Once Upon a Time in New Orleans
by BabyFangirl.xxx
Summary: AU, Misty moves into her new apartment in New Orleans, and having a beautiful next-door neighbour is an added bonus. FOXXAY
1. Books and Bands

Misty Day had several curses bouncing and resonating off the walls of her mind, and another few poised on the very tip of her tongue, she had gotten this far: walked into the glass door, tripped twice in the lobby, and even managed to go up an extra flight of stairs than she needed and groaned all the way back down to her allocated floor. But now she gave up holding it in and swore under her heaving breath as she now tackled the door to her new apartment. She was balancing several boxes in her arms, a large bag on her back, a guitar strapped across her front and still pulled a case along with her too... Somehow, she managed, and now she was charged with the difficult challenge of putting the key into the lock. God have mercy.

The wild haired girl was very much a one trip person so leaving half of her luggage downstairs to collect later just wasn't an option. Misty managed to balance her boxes on her hip, whilst fumbling with the keys and just as she had located the right key, the bottom of her box split, causing a fair amount of books to scatter along the hall as if they were purposefully trying to escape her. All that happened the exact moment her phone began to ring ignorantly, reminding Misty that it existed, by playing 'Rhiannon' as loud as it possibly could. The music was now accompanying the girls grumbling swear words as the key finally slid into the lock and twisted.

"Ya gotta be kiddin' me," Misty huffed at the stiff door, kicking the wood with her knee and almost fell into her apartment. Well at least she was in. She dropped the remaining boxes in a far corner, propping her case against the wall and laid her guitar on the bed before moving to crack open the window. It was a thousand degrees in the centre of New Orleans, and she had just tackled a trip up the stairs, she deserved a nice breeze.

The window had a sweet footlocker in front of it, and Misty smiled and sat down. She could imagine herself sitting there when pouring rain was hammering off the glass, and she had her hands around a nice cup of chocolate; or in the sun, with her hair glistening gold as she read a good book. Book... The young blonde hopped to her feet to gather the sea of literature that had cascaded across the floor upon her arrival. The door was still ajar and Misty glanced down to see all her books in a neat little pile right in the doorway, so she didn't even have to collect them herself.

Honeycomb curls danced around her shoulders as she tried to catch a glimpse of the person who had tidied her mess, but she was alone with her books. "Thank you!" she called to whoever may be listening, and she shut the door after picking up her neat stack of books.

The Cajun pulled out her phone, sitting cross-legged on her new bed, connecting immediately to the Wi-Fi and checking her calls.

"Luke, ya just rang?"

 _"_ _Yes, Mist, it's Wednesday, are we okay for band practice tonight?"_ The blonde smiled, nodding. She and Luke Ramsey had organised a band just a year ago and made quite a few numbers in Misty's old garage, but she had lived with her parents then, now she had a place all to herself.

"Yeah, ya got the address of the block? I'm up in room twenty-two," she could hear her friend shifting and scribbling the number on something.

 _"_ _We'll be there at seven, see you Mist,"_

* * *

Misty found herself thinking about the book incident much more than actually deemed necessary, but still, a warm smile tugged at the girls colourless lips, knowing there was at least one kind soul in the building. She had changed out of her simple jeans and polo after sweating her morning away, and had figured out how to use the shower after being scolded and frozen in intervals. She now wore a loose red dress with long arms and short skirt, it was more comfortable than wiggling into another pair of skinny jeans anyhow.

She had yet to unpack, her boxes still stacked in a threateningly unsteady pile exactly where she had left them, and her case spread open on the bed simply because her need for fresh clothes and a towel. Besides, she had WiFi, and friends, so there was little chance of her doing any sort of work before she had settled in and told everyone how wonderful her trip into New Orleans had been.

There was a loud knock at her door, that could have only been Luke, and soon enough he came crashing in carrying the sound speaker and electric drum kit, followed by Kaylee with the microphones, leads and the keyboard with it's stand, finally followed by Madison, carrying four pizza boxes.

"Surprise, Bitch,"

* * *

Cordelia rolled over in her bed to stare at the ceiling, dark eyes boring into the dull white plaster with such intensity she could've made the Hulk cringe. Her pale porcelain hand reached out to try and find her phone in the dark. The brightness of her screen did absolutely nothing to cease the headache that was beginning to form just behind her eyes, but she glared at the time with a slight huff falling past her lips. 11:25

The music coming from next door was pretty hard to fall asleep to, with catchy drum beats causing the woman to even tap her foot under the quilt. The lyrics were slightly muffled through the single wall that parted them, she could hear the guitar strumming out a solo, and despite how she knew that the band next door was talented, it was late, and she had to work first thing in morning.

Cordelia switched on her bed side light; wincing as her sight adjusted, her feet found the cold floor as she pulled a gown over her nightclothes, making sure her hair hadn't received the whole 'bed-head,' treatment yet. The woman contemplated going back to bed, after all, her new neighbour had just moved in, quite stressfully as well, having had her box split in the middle of the hall. She had felt pure sympathy and had rushed to gather the books, in hope to make the girls day just a little bit better. The older woman had smiled on the other side of her door, hearing the newcomers genuine thanks.

Unlocking her apartment door, Cordelia shuffled across to the next room, rubbing her eyes with the palm of her hand. The music was louder now and she could make out the words that were being sung. The lead singer also had a harmonizer that she hadn't noticed before, and she could also recognise the piano in tune with the guitar.

She knocked.

Luke's head snapped up from where he sat, drumsticks in hand as a sharp knock resonated from the door and apparently he had been the only be to hear it. He leaned over and switched off the speaker, causing Madison to whip around with a confused glare "Mist! You have a visitor!" Cordelia anxiously bit on her lower lip, hoping she wasn't going to ruin four teenagers' night. Mist? That was a peculiar name... Perhaps a stage name for the band, but the woman dismissed the sudden thought from her mind.

"I gotta what?" a heavily accented voice replied, and Cordelia Goode giggled quietly behind her fingers, knowing that the girl had just moved in and certainly wasn't expecting anyone to turn up on her doorstep, not at this time of night at least. Misty jumped up from her perch on the footstool in front of the window, carefully setting her guitar down before not so carefully tripping over the books she had rest on the floor and hitting her head off a microphone as she made her way to the door, groaning in slight pain.

Cordelia's brows knitted softly together hearing the crash and groan sounding from the inside. She cleared her throat, just as the door had been yanked open.

The girl that stood in front of her was red in the face and breathless, and the woman assumed that she had fallen and caused the crash she had heard just moments ago. Her golden curls fell over her shoulders, threatening to spill in front of her sky-blue eyes that stared back at Cordelia. The slightly shorter woman blushed, this predicament was more awkward than she had imagined, standing there in her nightclothes, and honestly, she didn't want to sound rude or mean, but truthfully, she couldn't afford to be tired in front of her co-workers tomorrow morning.

 _Say something, Cordelia._

"Hi," _Good start._ She shuffled slightly hesitant before glancing up to the other, "I'm really sorry to bother you, but I... I have to be up for work quite early tomorrow, do you think you could tone the music down a little? I- I live next door," Cordelia glanced up hopefully and was met by a sweet grin and earnest nod.

"Absolutely! I'm real sorry, I ain't used ta livin' near people, I guess," the wild blonde explained with a soft sigh, as she cast an apologetic glance towards the other woman who stood there in her nightclothes, and Misty felt absolutely terrible for having gotten the woman out of her bed. She leant against the door frame, with a small smile that made Cordelia reciprocate immediately. The older woman caught a glimpse of the other three people in the girls room.

The redhead sat at the piano was watching the conversation with a slice of cold pepperoni pizza between her fingers; the male sat at the drum kit gave a goofy grin, absent-mindedly spinning his drumsticks. The other girl stood in the centre behind a microphone, arms folded as if she wished she could be anywhere else than there. When she caught Cordelia's gaze, she rolled her eyes and dramatically sat herself on the bed.

"Thank you," her attention turned back to the taller girl with an appreciative nod. She stuck out her hand and the wild blonde raised her brow in slight surprise, sapphire eyes widening slightly. "Cordelia Goode," she took the woman's offered hand and gave a small yet firm shake with a smile that lit up her face.

"I'm Misty, Misty Day," she introduced brightly, leaving the other pleasantly astounded at her energy level for this time of night.  
" Nice to meet you, Misty. Well, I should be going, thank you again" the woman admitted, her gaze traveling down to the patterned carpet beneath her bare feet. She instinctively pulled the gown tighter around her as she turned away, looking back with a sweet smile only when the Cajun bid her a good night and sweet dreams.

Cordelia quickly disregarded her robe, flinging it across the chair at her desk before slipping into bed and pulled the thick covers up to her chin and reached to turn off her beside lamp. From the next room she heard a chorus of 'ooh's', followed by Misty's obvious swearing that caused the woman to grin slightly. The boy on the drums tapped out a quick _ba dum tss._

"Ya an ass Madison!" Misty called, and from then on it was silent, and as the three left the wild blondes room hauling their equipment, Cordelia fell asleep with a smile printed softly on her face.

* * *

"Uh-oh, who broke Cordelia?" Zoe marched up to the desk with a confident stride, resting both elbows on the solid surface, regarding her friend with concern registering in grey pepper eyes. Cordelia had propped her heavy head on her palm, the cheery smile had long since fallen from her lips and her eyelids were drooping with every passing minute. The woman reclined in her chair, forcing her head to balance on her neck properly. Usually she would have had a wonderful comeback to Zoe's incredulous humour, but today, the blonde just massaged her stiff wrist that she had been leaning on for half an hour.

"I didn't sleep great," Cordelia admitted, rubbing at her eyes and trying to focus her attention on something in hope of would keep her awake, she glanced upwards to register Zoe watching her and clearly wanting the statement elaborating. The woman sighed, letting a loose groan descend from her semi-parted lips. "I have a new neighbour,"

"And?" Zoe sprung immediately, with such haste that Cordelia even woke up some.

"And... They're in a band," she continued, clicking the end of her pen repeatedly, trying to find some distraction from the continuous lull of sleep, the long haired brunette seemed to be the only help to the woman.

" Well, why didn't you tell them to can it? I know you Cordelia, you're not shy," Zoe pressed, now leaning against the desk with a tingling smile. She barely heard the blondes confirmation that she did, and Zoe snapped her fingers an inch from her nose, causing Cordelia to sit up straight and wide eyed. "and did they shut up?" the woman nodded slowly, resisting the temptation to rest her head back on her hand. "Then what's the problem, is he cute?"

Cordelia almost choked on the air, her head snapping to meet Zoe's gaze who grinned down at her with a stubborn look in her eyes.

"Zoe!" she protested, finally as awake as she needed to be.

"Well is he?" the younger girl pressed, smirking at her friend as she now perched on her desk.

"She." Cordelia corrected, before softly shrugging her tense shoulders. "And I didn't exactly notice," Zoe snorted in disbelief shaking her head, ignoring the hardened glance she received in return.

"That's shit Cordelia, you think she's cute," dark eyes rolled followed by a heavy sigh. _Do I? Do I think my new neighbour is cute?_ She didn't have time for this. Cordelia picked up a stack of papers and rustled the pages to try and make herself look as busy as possible.

"She's just a neighbour Zoe," The woman mumbled, but she just wasn't taking the hint, and remained with her butt glued to her desk.

"She just moved in Cords, buy her some flowers, or some wine, is she old enough to drink?" she nodded again, feeling completely overwhelmed by bossy Zoe.

"Fine! I'll go pick something up after work! Now will you leave me alone... Please?"

Zoe blew her a kiss and Cordelia groaned, knowing that she'd be spending the whole shift wondering what flowers the cute Misty Day would like.


	2. Beakers of Wine

Misty was immediately greeted by the chorus of Stevie Nicks' Landslide first thing in the bright, warm morning and the young woman reached out to find her ringing phone. She adored Stevie, but to have the woman deafen her daily at eight in the morning was just dull. Her long, agile fingers swept across the cold, hard surface without even bothering to open her eyes, it was early and lifting her eyelids cost energy that the girl was sure she didn't have. "Where are ya?" the Cajun grumbled in search for the blaring music, finally relenting and peeking through one eye.

Now the only thing worse than waking up in bed and not able to find your noisy phone, was walking up on the solid wooden floor instead. Misty sat upright awfully aware of the excruciating ache that had taken root in her spine and her neck as she stretched and wincing slightly, she hauled herself up. "Ouch! Walk it off, walk it off, walk it off," she groaned to herself, shuffling drearily into the kitchen still half asleep. "Stevie, Stevie, Stevie, Stevie," the wild haired blonde hastily returned, located her phone and switched off her alarm, letting her apartment fill with sweet silence. Her stomach growled relentlessly, but until she went grocery shopping, she was up for a wonderful three coursed meal of Cheerios.

Her guitar laid across her bed, taking half of the space, she didn't remember ever sleeping beside that before; but the Cajun guessed she must have fallen out of bed during the night. "Ya don' sleep with me, ya sleep in ya case," Misty announced, grabbing her guitar by its neck before pausing worriedly, "An' I'm talking to a musical instrument... Tha's normal,". The girls train of thought pulled into her neighbours station, and she wondered briefly if Cordelia was working already... But, why was she thinking about her first thing in the morning? Her train of thought departed, full speed ahead, but she knew that her thoughts would collect at that rendezvous point based around her sweet next-door neighbour.

The young blonde had a concerning amount of things to do today: Tidy yesterdays pizza boxes that had been abandoned, mostly empty; finally unpack all her possessions and clothes, she was bound to need them sooner or later and also stroll into town and see if anywhere was up for hiring someone like her, plus she was in desperate need of food to fill her empty cupboards and her empty stomach. But instead Misty spent her time showering (finally balancing the temperature perfectly between arctic circle and molten fire) genuinely being lazy, procrastinating and circling wanted positions in the newspaper that she was thinking of applying for.

The red marker sunk through several thin pages, and it had a ghastly smell reminding Misty that she would have been able to use an ordinary pen had she been a responsible person and unpacked. But she was taking a day free of responsibilities and in turn had not even touched a box. She hadn't even gotten dressed properly, throwing on a white tank top and her boxer short underwear, after all, it wasn't as if she was going out. Misty lounged on the couch having thrown away the rest of the takeaway boxes and munched on the single left over slice of Hawaiian pizza. Voilà breakfast, who needs groceries anyway?

* * *

Never in her life had Cordelia Goode ever spent so much time making a simple, fairly stupid decision, the only thing she was positive about, was that she was wasting the florists time. She had decided, then changed her mind, over and over again; this had happened five times already and now Cordelia was intently studying between a sweet bouquet of Iris' and a flattering arrangement of Orchids.

They were both pleasing to the eye, one a cold purple but beautiful all the same, and the orchids were delightful pink. The woman smiled softly at the meaning behind each flower Iris' resembled inspiration, and Cordelia had to admit that she found it cute, the others meant delicate beauty, and God that was Misty, but thankfully, the girl wouldn't know that if she wasn't such a botanist geek like Miss Goode was. And three minutes and two more second choices later, Cordelia left with a sweet arrangement of pink orchids.

She had learnt to trust Zoe's advice, knowing that her closest friend was only thinking of what was best for her, more so than her own mother; but God knows where she was now... basking in the Bahamas, or kicking back in Hawaii. Cordelia had no idea, but it wasn't as if she was bothered, Fiona could take a nice long trip to the Bermuda triangle for all she cared.

Cordelia found herself walking a lot quicker than usual, with longer and more meaningful strides. She had walked about with flowers and wine before, but never had she felt a powerful surge coursing through her veins. And it had nothing to do with the fact it was a Thursday afternoon, if she felt this confident every Thursday she would not be sitting behind a desk day in and day out. But no matter what she tried to pin the blame on, Cordelia Goode simply couldn't understand why she was feeling so… blissful.

Instead, she spent her journey figuring how to open the conversation when Misty Day opened her door.

* * *

The curly haired blonde had woken from a 'well-deserved' nap only half an hour ago, and had not bothered to move. A timid knock sounded from her door, startling the Cajun who had been quite content laying across the furniture whilst playing a mental game of dot-to-dot with the smudges on the ceiling. For a brief moment she just sat there, wondering if the noise was real, or if she was just so lonely that her imagination was making her believe she had a visitor. Another polite knock sounded, confirming her suspicions and practically leapt from the couch, skidding across the floor in pale yellow fluffy bed socks.

She was greeted by the sight of Cordelia standing awkwardly with a slight smile and the girl immediately felt underdressed. The older woman was wearing a fitting grey pantsuit, and a cute blouse, her straight blonde hair had been tied back neatly, and where most of Misty's skin was exposed, Cordelia was her polar opposite. She should've really pulled on some leggings or a skirt or, something before answering the door. "Hi! Again!"

Cordelia had spent the whole walk from the florists, trying to think what to say when she knocked on Misty Days door, besides the whole usual 'welcome to the neighbourhood' cliché. She had picked up a bottle of wine from the corner store, and now, holding wine and flowers, she looked more ready for valentine's day, rather than a quick welcome. With her prepared speech loudly echoing in her mind, the older woman smiled and tried to speak. Of course, when she had been planning her whole oration, she wasn't expecting her neighbour to be near to naked.

 _Words are a thing. Words exist. Use your words Cordelia! Come on, it's not like she's parading around shirtless._

She mentally berated herself, taking a deep, shaky breath and getting her… whatever _that_ was, under control.

"Welcome to New Orleans!" Cordelia declared with a pleasant smile, bringing the bottle of wine and orchids into view, she watched as ocean-blue eyes lit up in delight, a small squeak crossing her smooth lips.

"Oh! Miss Goode! They're beautiful!" she accepted the flowers with wonder, and the brightest smile that the shorter blonde had ever seen. The older woman even noticed that her blue orbs shimmered, pupils dilated softly, and the little creases, laugh lines, became more visible in the far corner of her eyes. "Ya know, tha's the second nicest welcome I got here," Misty's grin didn't waver as she brought the Orchids close to her nose, inhaling the sweet honey-like scent with a hum on her lips.

"The second? And please, call me Cordelia," The woman inquired, her brow slightly raising skyward in question. The younger of the two looked up, now concentrating on the shorter blonde, rather than the flowers, and gave a curt nod.

"Uh-huh," Misty smirked slightly, leaning against the frame, "That really nice ol' man next door with the missin' teeth, threatened ta blow up my guitar, last night. I'd say that's a real welcome," Cordelia bit her lip with silent apology, she was sorry that the younger girl had to deal with the… much less friendly neighbours, on her first night as well.

"That would be Mister Harvey… Delightful isn't he?" she interjected, casting a disdainful glance to the door on the left. The wild blonde giggled, and Cordelia felt a warm smile tugging again at her lips, as if that laughter alone was enough to make her happy.

"Ya can say that again…Please do come in!" Misty announced, pulling the door open as wide as it could go, the hinges squeaking with the pressure of the girls body. "It's a bit of a ..." she didn't exactly have a word for her apartment. It wasn't a mess, after all, there wasn't anything in it yet to make a mess with, but it was bare and the only evidence that someone was living there was the unmade bed and the pizza crust on a paper plate. "I'll put some pants on!" the Cajun promised with a loose grin, coaxing a warm chuckle from the older blonde.

Cordelia just bit her bottom lip, the smile still clear in the corners of her lips, "I'd love to," She followed Misty inside, softly shutting the door behind her before glancing around the room with sweet chocolate eyes. "You... Haven't unpacked," the woman observed, noting the boxes resembling more the leaning tower of Pisa than anything else. Her gaze wandered over to the girl who was anxiously pulling on a pair of black sweatpants as she set the wine down on the centre table.

"Guilty," the wild haired blonde moved to set the flowers in the sink before hauling her huge backpack off the floor that had been abandoned for just over twenty-four hours. She had forgotten how heavy it was. "The firs' thing I did was connect ta the WiFi, so it kinda got delayed." Misty admitted with a cheeky giggle, smiling towards her neighbour before pulling two clean, green plastic beakers from her bag. "I, uh... ain't got any glasses yet, hope ya don' mind," Cordelia could only laugh as she poured the wine equally into the cups.

"No, I don't mind, Misty," accepting the beaker that was passed to her, Cordelia watched the Cajun for a second before rising the green plastic and dully clinking it against its twin in cheers, "Here's to a new setting, a new home, and a new friend," Misty gigged softly with a nod, letting loose what sounded like an 'Aye'. The older woman sipped at her wine, the smile on her lips practically permanent as dark chocolate met sapphire sky and held the girls gaze. She set the cup down, feeling the beverage soothingly burn down her throat. "So, do you like it here? I don't want to pry, but where are you traveling from?"

Misty Day felt a soft bubbling in her stomach, making her heart jolt, it was probably the wine… possibly the wine… She would have liked to believe it was the wine and not Cordelia's Star-crafted diamond eyes. "Mh! I do, I like it. An' I like that lil window," she admitted, pointing to the glass window with the foot locker. "An' I came from Lafayette, 'round a hundred an' thirty-five miles from here," the wild haired blonde let a splitting smile control her lips. "I even gotta map somewhere I could show ya on, but…" with a timid glance, she nodded over to the boxes that surely would start gathering dust.

Cordelia laughed playfully, rolling her eyes; walking around the table, she took the Cajun's hand in her own and led her over to the discarded luggage. "Come on you, stop procrastinating, you obviously need to unpack, and I can't see you doing it within the foreseeable future, so let me help you," Misty was about to protest, but every inch of her being knew that the older woman was right. She couldn't help but blush at Cordelia's attractive authority, and the endearing grip on her hand.

"Ya really don' have ta do that," she stated, staring at the boxes incredulously, her brows knitting together. Misty had been dreading tackling the mountain of boxes, but with Cordelia smiling at her, preparing to partake with the awful unpacking, the Cajun was almost, dare she say, excited?

"I know I don't, but if I don't this will still be here next year, now pass me a box," the older woman smiled, and Misty found it almost odd how well she knew her, without even spending that much time together. Relenting, the curly blonde handed down the top box whilst she took the second, and together, they started to unpack all of Misty's possessions.

* * *

"Misty?" the shorter blonde called, from where she sat cross-legged in front of the girls' full and tidy bookshelf. She had just arranged the literature in alphabetical order, and had even smiled at several copies of her own favourite childhood stories; Alice's adventures in Wonderland, the Slipper and the Rose. She could not control her laughter when she had discovered the Kung-Fu Panda poster book, and she had promptly been hit in the head with a pair of clean, fluffy socks, Misty yelling for her 'not to laugh'. But now, Cordelia sat on the floor with a cream leather-bound book, that was filled on every page with photographs. "Misty!" she called again, and golden curls finally bobbed up from the kitchen.

"What's the matter, Miss Cordelia?" the Cajun asked in concern, jumping over the back of the couch, and sitting on the cushions while watching the womans back.

"Misty, please, Cordelia is more than fine," _Yes she_ _is._ Misty thought to herself, blushing immediately, and reeling in her thoughts. "Where would you like this? It's… your photographs." The wild blonde caught her lip between rows of pearly teeth biting back a grin as she slid to the floor and shuffled beside the older woman.

"I ain't looked at this in ages!" she exclaimed, propping the book open against her knees. Curiosity overwhelmed Cordelia and she sat close to the girl, glancing over her shoulder at the pictures, luckily, Misty wasn't one for privacy and adjusted the album so the both of them could see it. "This one," she pointed to a cute little baby with an endearing tuft of blonde curls, clutching an easter egg, with melted chocolate surrounding her hands and face, "was my first Easter," The shorter woman giggled behind her fingers.

"Oh Misty, you're so cute! ... What happened?" she teased, earning a playful shove from the girl beside her, and they continued like that for some time. The pair had managed to find themselves on the sofa, Cordelia had her legs curled up to her side, her head resting softly on Misty's shoulder, looking at every picture and listening whole-heartedly as the young blonde explained the story behind it. "Hey, it's your band!" she stated softly, pointing to the top photograph on the next page.

In the photo were four people, standing outside an old garage with smiles as wide as their faces would allow. "This is our first photo!" she spoke with such excitement, "We never got around ta choosing a band name, still don' have one… Anyway, that's Kaylee, on the left, she got the stage name 'fire-girl' because she accidentally set fire to her sister's curtains once," Misty glanced to the older woman, who was watching her intently baring an amused grin, "An' ya got, Luke on the right, 'Devil's dream', he's actually a lovely person, he jus' chose the stage name to rebel against his Christian mother," she heard Cordelia chuckle and it sent a pleasing shiver down her spine. "Course, ta the left ya got Madison, the 'Lucky Diamond', She's a bitch, my best friend, and she is kinda lucky, she got a hell of a lotta money, ta pull strings for us." Misty was well aware of the womans warm breath tickling her bare arm and she could feel goosebumps prickling her skin.

"Madison? The one you were calling an Ass last night?" the girl blushed and nodded softly.

"Great, ya heard that. But next ya got me…" she pointed out to the fourth figure in the picture.

Cordelia didn't need that final piece of information, she had been studying that face in the photograph more than the other three. Misty's head was tilting back slightly, as if she were delivering the most genuine and musical laugh; her baby-blue eyes were only partially open, but they were sparkling like the stars. She was so happy. "What was your stage name?" there was quietness for a while until she looked up to the younger woman, who only smiled slightly.

"Rhiannon,"

* * *

It didn't take long for them to finish sorting out Misty's apartment, tidying and organizing (that was more on Cordelia's part). They had talked over many topics: Fleetwood Mac; annoying family celebrations, desserts, socks (that was interesting) and before long it was six in the evening and they had finished the bottle of wine.

"Miss Cordelia-" the girl began, receiving a playful glare from her neighbour, "Cordelia, thank ya so much! I really do appreciate this… ya were right, I don' think I'da gotten around to it till next year." She laughed softly and the older woman smiled with such joy that the Holy Ghost would be proud.

"It's not a problem, darling," she pulled Misty in for a short embrace that was immediately returned, and she was glad that she had made a friend in the area.

"How on Earth am I supposed ta repay ya?" the Cajun questioned, and the shorter blonde began shaking her head. She didn't need any form of payment for something she had offered to do and enjoyed. "Don' ya shake ya head at me, Miss Cordelia," Misty teased playfully, a bright smile on her lips. Did the girl even know that she kept adding 'Miss' to her name, or was she just electing to ignore her many pointers?

"Honestly. I don't need anything," She promised, picking up her grey blazer on her way to the door.

"I ain't been grocery shoppin' yet, so... will ya let me take ya out for a dinner tonight instead?" Misty asked hopefully. Friends could go out to dinner together, that wasn't weird. Cordelia bit her bottom lip softly, a growing smile tugging at her features, before nodding gently.

"I… I think that's really nice of you Misty, thank you," the Cajun beamed, opening the door for her neighbour, who smiled in return

"Is seven okay?" Cordelia nodded again quickly, before unlocking the door to her apartment just a few steps away.

"I'll be ready," they shut their doors in sync, leaning against the wood with gentle smiles gracing their lips.

 _Cordelia Goode called me Darling._

 _Misty is taking me out to Dinner._

And although both had a different reason behind the grin that lit up their faces, each caused the others happiness for that moment in time, and there was nothing more beautiful than the outside look of two women initiating the gladness in the others heart.


	3. The Not-Date

One hour.

The young woman had one hour to get herself ready to take Cordelia out to dinner. In reality, she should have spent her time in equal slots; showering, taking care of her crazy hair, and getting dressed. But actual reality included sitting on her couch for half of that precious time processing the information and talking in hushed mumbles to herself.

"There's a fine line between a dinner an' a date, the line's so darn obvious it's luminous orange and flashing with Christmas lights." Misty assured herself, distractedly picking at a loose string of her fluffy socks. A dinner was just as it says, a meal, not necessarily romantic, that was simply a nice gesture in return for the perilous labour that Cordelia Goode had endured when she helped unpack her apartment. "Maddi an' I have dinner sometimes," but they were just fun get-togethers when the Hollywood wannabe was feeling bored. A date, however, could include a dinner, but it was much more thought up and included flowers and wine and irresistible glances and... Flowers and wine? Orchids and Pinot Grigio? "No, this ain't a date! They were welcome gifts," She argued with her stubborn brain before pulling off her tank top and heading for the shower with thirty minutes on the clock.

The stream of hot water dowsed her pale body, cascading down her smooth back and drenching her hair so it stuck to her shoulders. _This isn't trying too hard, this is me having a shower 'cause I'm sweaty._ Misty reprimanded herself, pushing her hair out of her face behind her back as she turned off the spray and stepped out of the shower. With the freshly unpacked towel wrapped tightly around her body, the Cajun brushed her teeth before wondering into her room.

Now the real challenge... What to wear to a not-date dinner? Maddison would know what to pick. She was practically Misty's stylist whenever she was around, rearranging her wardrobe and trying to turn the girl into some fashion star. Though probability called it that half the time she would be clad in some skimpy little outfit. Now, the Cajun stood at her wardrobe staring at all her clothes until something jumped up and screamed 'Wear me!'.

* * *

Once Cordelia had gotten over her silly, girly moment after closing her door; she had immediately gone around preparing. She had set out her casual, yet adorable outfit, chosen the shoes to wear with it, she had even set out which makeup she would be wearing. And fifteen minutes into the hour, the older woman sat on her tidy bed and picked up her phone.

Dark eyes widened at the screen, soft fingertips tapping out her pin as she unlocked her messages to see several texts from Zoe.

 **Hey Cords, cute neighbour like her gifts? X** ****_Sent five hours ago_

 **Cordelia, stop ignoring me, tell me how it went!** ** _-_** Kissy face emoji ** _-_** _Sent four hours ago_

 **Dammit, I don't give you the awesome ideas just for you to give me the cold shoulder. Kyle's taking me out, I expect to hear from you before I get back, pleeeeeeease** _Sent two hours ago_

 **Are you alive? I'm coming over.** _Sent twenty minutes ago_

The blonde rolled her dark eyes as she leant back into the soft cushions before ringing her best friend who answered the call immediately.

 _"_ _So, look who finally remembered how to work her phone! What happened? Were you kidnapped?"_ She could hear Zoe laughing on the other end of the line and Cordelia rolled her eyes immediately. As if being kidnapped was the only suitable and logical explanation as to why she hadn't answered her phone.

"I've been busy, and I'm only ringing to tell you that there's no need to come over, I have plans," the woman spoke as nonchalantly as possible, hoping to pass her 'plans' off as work related, Zoe was quite nosey when it came to her life.

 _"_ _Okay, alright, now open the door, it's cold in the hallway,"_ her best friend snickered and Cordelia groaned, walking on her knees to the bottom of her bed and steering over to the door, she hung up the phone and let Zoe in. The brunette came in bouncing, taking the woman's hand and dragging her back to the bed. "So, how's the cute neighbour?" Zoe teased, and her colleague shot her a glare made of steel and daggers.

"The walls are paper thin, indoor voices, Zoe, and when I say indoor, I mean whispers," the younger woman playfully rolled her eyes as she crossed her legs impatiently. Her pepper coloured orbs scanned her friend's apartment before her gaze settled on the prepared outfit that hung off the door of the wardrobe.

"Going somewhere, Cordelia?" she inquired with smug curiosity, her tone had quietened quite considerably, and decided to lay back, making herself at home among the pillows that lined the bed.

"As a matter of fact I am, and it is no business of yours how I choose to spend my time, so don't even ask," Cordelia remarked quickly, beating Zoe who had tried to interject mid-sentence and now sulked with a little pout. "I'm not your boyfriend, the wavering bottom lip thing has no effect on me," the blonde laughed and the younger woman just sighed, sitting back up.

"Are you going on a date?" Miss Goode almost choked, fixing her friend with a sarcastic glare. "What's the Fancy Get-up for then?"

"It isn't a date, it's a dinner… wait, you think it's fancy? I was going for casual," Cordelia admitted, turning her gaze back to her hanging-up attire, tilting her head slightly to try and see the clothing from a different perspective. She had selected a knee length black skirt and a simple white chemise that she had paired with a set of shiny, black high heels.

"Eh, fancy-casual," Zoe contributed with an ebbing grin and a shrug, "And if someone is taking you to dinner… and you're preparing in advance, that's so a date! Who's taking you? Is it your hot neighbour?" a fire burned in the womans cheeks, her friend was on a roll and there was no reeling her in when she got this exited.

"It isn't a date, it's a… a friendly bargain for helping with the apartment. And Zoe, fancy-casual isn't a word," but the brunette wasn't listening to whether the word was in the dictionary or not. She had a big smile on her lips and looked close to dancing or bursting into song… Cordelia hoped neither.

"So it _is_ you neighbour! How old is she?" she chirped eagerly, the woman was hardly amused by the energetic outburst.

"I don't know,"

"Is she gay?" the blonde had barely finished her reply before the next question had been belted out like a flying arrow, and the older woman rolled her eyes again.

"I don't know,"

"Jeez, there's a lot you don't know about her… What's her phone number?"

"I don't know! I swear to God, Zoe! If you ask for her Zodiac sign or her mother's maiden name, I will actually strangle you," the girl frowned almost looking genuinely disappointed as if those were going to be her next questions, but strangling didn't sound like a good way to go out. Damn those indoor voices.

* * *

Misty had fifteen minutes; and sitting on her bed in her underwear, she grabbed the computer that sat on the desk nearby. Everyone that knew the wild blonde knew of her talent for procrastination, and so it came to no surprise that she was quickly tapping in her login details before bringing up her location.

What kind of idiot invited their neighbour out to dinner, without knowing where to eat? After finally locating a well-rated restaurant, not too far to walk on foot that was within her price range, Misty could only hope that Cordelia liked Chinese food...

 _Seven minutes. Find clothes, unless ya want ya only friendly neighbour ta freak out._

* * *

Cordelia had managed to usher her best friend out of her apartment before she had gotten too flustered. Zoe liked to drop into personal matters and squeeze out every little detail as if she was a lemon, not that she minded her gossip (the woman found it was actually delightful to listen to on a Tuesday break with coffee) but being centre of the girls, very well presented attention, was just making her all the more nervous.

The brunette had seemed to pick up on non-existent vibes that Cordelia's little girl-crush was reciprocated, and by that point Miss Goode was seconds away from throwing something at the other. How many times did she have to repeat that she did not have a crush on her next-door neighbour? She should have known better. There was no convincing Zoe once her mind was set, and now, unfortunately, the girl was hell bent that Misty Day had feelings for her in return.

The unexpected encounter had cost the woman time that she had not wanted to lose, and although her perfect organisation and mental time-table would be enough to keep her going, she was still rather alarmed that the abrupt arrival had thrown her schedule. She had changed, straightened her hair and applied make-up, and now Cordelia was trying not to fuss over her appearance in the mirror. There was a single minute to seven by her watch, and Misty still hadn't knocked on her door. True, she was only a wall away, and she had less than sixty seconds, it was simply that the blonde had become quite enthusiastic to be going out to dinner.

From next door, she suddenly heard the Cajuns famous swearing and bit her bottom lip to keep from laughing. Cordelia could only imagine what had happened on the other side of the wall.

When Misty knocked at her door, the older woman opened it instantly. She didn't know what she had been expecting... Maybe she was quite used to the tank top and fluffy socks? But what she had not been prepared for, was for the taller girl to be dressed in a loose fitting blouse, smart skinny jeans and polished brown boots that raised up her mile long legs. Her curly golden tresses had been left down and every strand caught the dim lighting of the hall.

"... Ya ain't gonna say hi?" the ethereal blonde teased with a conditional smile, bright blue eyes fixated on the other woman.

"Hi," Cordelia answered with a steady chuckle blinking up to her neighbour. With her heels, she had tried to match the girls height but there was still a considerable few inches which almost made the older woman pout. She just locked the door and joined Misty in the empty hallway. "Where are we going?"

"Ya'll have ta wait an' see!" the Cajun announced excitedly, not even thinking before taking Cordelia's hand and lead beside her. The shorter woman was smiling, almost feeding off the others radiated energy and elation. She didn't know where they were going, but she did know that Misty's hand was soft and warm.

* * *

It was perfectly casual, walking to the restaurant by the route that Misty had memorised on Google maps. Their steps fell in perfect time, and the street lamps illuminated the path ahead of them. It took no time at all to arrive and the older woman smiled brightly at their destination, swearing that she practically 'lived off Chinese,'. And the two of them entered and took a seat near the window.

Cordelia's eyes were pretty... not just the way a daisy was pretty or a bird was pretty but more on the scale of mountains and sunsets. The dark chocolate was captivating, like sitting on the warm sand of a beach and watching the evening waves roll onto shore. But despite how pretty those eyes were, Misty had a hard time keeping her gaze above the neck. _God, you idiot, stop that!_

"Misty?"

"Huh?" the Cajun was pulled from her thoughts by a rather amused looking Cordelia.

"I said... Will you be okay with another bottle of wine?" the woman smiled, hidden laughter tinting her tone and the wild blonde nodded quickly.

Misty let out a judgemental huff as the other woman poured her wine. "Wine in glasses... how posh and original," the girl playfully mocked, as if she would rather be drinking out of a plastic breaker like a five year old. The older woman liked to envision it, the Cajun toasting with her forest green plastic cup, ignoring all the disapproving and unctuous glances cast her way. She admired that, how the girl coated herself in confidence like sugar.

Cordelia softly folded up her menu and regarded Misty as she scrolled through the options with a confused look printed on her sharp, tanned features, and it took the shorter blonde a little self-control to try not to laugh. "You don't know what any of that is, do you?" the wild blonde looked up as if she had been caught red handed, an apologetic pleading glance in her wide, trusting blue eyes.

"Not exactly... My idea of Chinese are those little prawns ya get in the seeded toast" Misty explained anxiously as the older woman guffawed at the latest statement before scooting her chair around so they could both share the menu. The shorter blonde pointed out several dishes and explained them in detail as if she was giving a lecture on cells and not just Chinese dishes. By the fifth query, clarification in full context and proper pronunciation of the name, the Cajun gave in and glanced hopelessly to the other. "What ya havin'?"

Cordelia Goode laughed softly and pointed to the menu, tapping her fingertip against the card, indicating to the decided dish and watched with a coy smile as the girls' brows knitted softly together. "Shooeyzoo?" It was all the shorter blonde could do not to choke on her wine, coughing once before warm laughter erupted from her smooth lips

"Shuizhu," she corrected and Misty just glanced at her as if she was a talking Alpaca dressed as Sherlock Holmes.

"Bless you," the Cajun replied with such sincerity that for a second they both stared at each other in pure silence before they were reduced to soft giggles at the remark.

"Do like beef?" she questioned briefly, receiving a curt nod in response, "And chilli pepper?" another nod "Well, you should like this," Cordelia placed their orders and topped up Misty's glass before her own. She was seemingly not interested in shuffling her chair back to its original position at the other side of the table and instead sat adjacent to the other woman, not that either one of them was complaining, the older blonde just turned in her seat to face the girl with that permanent bemused grin.

"What?" Misty inquired suddenly when the other woman just stared and smiled at her. A small wave of embarrassment crept up the back of her neck and shaded the shell of her ears an endearing scarlet. "I know, I don' exactly eat, speak or... do Chinese… ya laughing' at me!" the girl exclaimed, a tugging smile hinting at her own lips.

Cordelia didn't even attempt to hide the giggles that were falling repeatedly from her roughed lips, shaking her head softly, before fixing her gaze on her dinner partner. "Why did you pick here if you don't even know half of what Chinese food is?" The shorter woman asked with a thick layer of delectation coating her tone, raising the glass to her lips.

"It was the best rated that was quite close! It's my second day in New Orleans I ain't so memorized with all the restaurants," Misty answered with a bright smile.

"Well, you'll have to let me show you some more excellent places, alright?" the woman remarked and the Cajun sat in complete astonishment. Was that an offer? Was that an invitation to have another dinner someplace else?

"I'd sure like that,"

* * *

"I can't possibly eat another bite!" Misty exclaimed finishing off her glass of wine while the older woman laughed softly. For her first time eating proper Chinese… that was amazing. The Cajun leant back in her chair, glancing around the room before her blue eyes lit up. "Oh, ice cream!" Cordelia couldn't help it, she giggled again, biting her bottom lip to try and reduce her amount of laughter.

"But you can't possibly eat another bite!" she reminded and Misty paused as if she had forgotten entirely what she had said only moments before.

"Ya right… I'm gonna pay for this," The wild-haired beauty practically skipped to the bar and paid for the bill, whilst Cordelia watched in tender delight. There was something about Misty Day that she could not put her finger on… she had never met anyone like her in her whole life. Not that there was anyone like the Cajun.

"Can I walk ya home?" Misty asked as she wandered back over with a beam on her face, and a hopeful gleam in her ocean-blue eyes.

"We live in the same building, Misty!" the older blonde stated sweetly and the girl blinked, almost as if remembering the fact for the first time, but she glanced back to the woman with a heartened grin.

"Can I walk ya to ya door?" Cordelia laughed as she wrapped her arm around the girls' softly. She couldn't deny that the idea was sweet, and if Misty wanted to cliché walk her to her door than she was not about to say no, after all, friends did that all the time...

"Now that you can do," she seemed pleased with the answer and the two headed home, with arms linked loosely together as if they had been confident friends for years, not a day.

* * *

The dim light of the hallway illuminated their features as the two women stood outside in the cool, breezy corridor, neither making any precise effort to unlock their own apartment. It was as if they were glued to the spot, staying close to the other, and under normal circumstances that should have felt weird at least, but it was unusually blissful, standing in the silent shadows. Misty was just so easy to be around and the older woman was so not inclined to go anywhere. The wild blonde had hardly felt this thrilled in quite a while, and resultantly was having a hard time leaving.

"Thank you for a great night, Misty, I really did enjoy it," Cordelia remarked with a smile lighting up her lips. That was no lie. She had laughed more in two and a half hours than… than her mother had laughed in her entire life!

"I did too, We'll have ta- ta do it again sometime," her sentence had been interrupted by a silent, half-suppressed yawn which unfortunately, did not fail to catch Cordelia's notice.

"That's it, go to bed!" the older woman ordered with a playful tone to which Misty just whined in response, shaking her head, golden curls brushing delicately over her shoulders.

"Don't want." She stubbornly opposed, before pouting at the older woman, in hope that the famous trick would let her stay out in the hall just a little bit longer.

"Go!" Cordelia laughed softly and gave her neighbour a gentle shove, "You can't stand here all night Miss Day." Despite how much she loved spending time with the girl, they were both rather tired, and heavens forbid she kept Misty awake.

"Is that a challenge?" The Cajun inquired teasingly with an arched brow, sidling up to the shorter woman.

"No!" the two of them laughed softly, sighing once the fatigue began to kick in. "Good night Misty." she spoke softly, watching as the wild blonde unlocked her apartment.

The girl glanced back, a splitting smile on her lips as she nodded to her next-door neighbour. "Night, Miss Cordelia,"


	4. Little Golden dreamcatcher

The Cajun fell heavily into her bed that night with an audible thud as the mattress sunk like a ship and the stiff springs squeaked in protest at the pressure. Misty paid no attention to the chorus of noises that infiltrated the serene night; even though she could hear the soothing hum of traffic that still buzzed outside, and the rare blaring of a car horn. But the clamor went unnoticed to the wild blonde as deep, ocean-filled blue eyes stared at the wall that separated her from Cordelia Goode, like Pyramus and Thisbe in Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream.

She had always loved that book and was positive it was on her 'Alphabetically-ordered' bookshelf. Damn that well organised woman to go through the trouble of filing all her literature from A to Z, Misty couldn't even colour co-ordinate Lego bricks when she was a child. But now, the wild-haired girl laid on her side, her gaze boring into the plastered wall beside her bed, wishing that she could momentarily look through the bricks like glass… Was Cordelia still awake? Was she staring at the wall in return, thinking about her?

She shook her head quickly, golden curls falling in front of her eyes, it was safe to not get her hopes up, and Misty mentally berated herself for letting her mind linger that long on her next-door neighbour.

 _Go ta sleep, ya crazy fool._ She chided firmly to herself, rolling on her back and the hard springs creaked reluctantly beneath her. The Cajun sighed, sitting upright and switching on her lamp. She simply was not tired, not even a little, trust the fatigue to wash away like rain as soon as she had gotten into bed. Misty padded over to her bookshelf, retrieving 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' from its place next to Moby Dick and returned to her bed after digging in her drawer for her reading glasses. Who needs sleep anyway when romantic tragedies existed?

Misty Day was deep into the Fourth Act, sitting cross-legged on her bed and her back propped against the wall with her pillows. The traffic had mainly deceased somewhere between 12:30 and 1 and the Cajun read in blissful silence. She had started yawning just at the end of Act three, and the girl was determined that she was going to finish the book, after all, it had been too long since she had just sat down and read. Misty turned the page, and suddenly heard a soft noise accompanying the rustle of the paper. She froze in place, not even breathing in case the sound of her exhale covered the noise if it came again.

There it was. A very soft, very quiet sniffle, as if someone was trying to push back tears. Blue eyes quickly scanned over to her digital clock by her bedside, it was half one in the morning, God help her, her ears better not be playing tricks. But there was no way her imagination could come up with the tiny sob that infiltrated through the paper-thin walls. Misty could actually hear the weeping from next-door and unless Mister-garlic-breath-guitar-threatening-douchebag had such feminine sobs, the only explanation was that Cordelia was crying.

Misty's feet had touched the floor before she had even thought about it, and was out of her door before anyone could say 'Shakespeare'.

* * *

"Miss Cordelia?" soft knuckles rapped quickly on the door, pausing for a mere second before continuing to drum repetitively on the wood. "Miss Cordelia!" Misty called a little louder, staring worriedly at the door, wondering if her neighbour was ignoring her. "It's me, Misty,". She went to knock again but the door creaked open and the Cajun was met by a shaking, red-eyed woman. "I'm so sorry ta get ya out a bed… again, I could hear ya from next-door, I jus' wanted ta know if ya were alright. Ya… ya don' really look alright?"

Cordelia stared up at the girl in slight surprise, brushing away the marks that the tears had left stained on her cheeks. She must have looked absolutely awful. "Please, come in, Misty," her voice broke, strained with the evidence of a sob that was stuck in the back of her throat. She stepped back, closing the door after the girl had entered, and the woman looked up to her apologetically. "I'm sorry if I… disturbed you, I just… I had this nightmare. I-I get it all the time," Cordelia felt as if she had to explain, still visibly shaking, feeling weaker than ever.

The wild blonde was beyond concerned, even if it was just a stupid dream, if it had the power to make the woman so petrified, Misty wanted to help. "Miss Cordelia, sit down," the calmness and authority to the Cajuns voice brought the older blonde out of her state, and she sat on the corner of her bed like an unquestioning child. "Dreams can't hurt ya, they ain't got no power over ya unless ya let them." She soothed gently, kneeling on the floor in front of the woman and taking her hands softly in her own.

Chocolate brown eyes coated with a fresh sheen of tears like glass, shoulders trembling as if she was carrying the weight of the sky. "I dream of my mother… and then of Hank," she shivered, knowing that it wouldn't make much sense to Misty, but the warmth of the girls hands, cupping around her own seemed to calm the sobs that remained.

"Miss Cordelia, ya don' deserve ta have anythin' happen ta ya that gives ya nightmares like this," she solemnly vowed, shaking her head whilst tracing small, ethereal circles on the back of the woman's hands with her thumb. A loose smile finally took its rightful place on Cordelia's lips. "Ya know, if it helps ya can talk ta me about anythin',"

"Thank you, Misty darling, that really does mean a lot to me," the woman whispered, closing her eyes for a short moment, content with the calm and soothing feeling that now washed over her. Cordelia urged the girl from her position on the floor tapping the spot beside her and the Cajun sat close, perching on the edge of the woman's bed. "My mother was rather fond of making sure she got into my head when I was a girl, saying everything a child didn't want to hear from their only parent," she sighed, glancing down at her lap, before leaning softly into the taller woman. "And my… ex-husband, he left me with nightmares the nights he left me with bruises," she could hardly get the words past her lips with the tightness the memories had on her throat.

Misty gasped, almost horrified that someone could treat the other woman with anything less than utmost respect. "That ain't right, Delia, he ain't a good man if he could hurt someone as nice as ya," she shook her head, blonde curls swaying gently. "If ya don' mind me sayin', but anyone would be lucky ta have ya, nobody should ever lay a hand on a woman such as yaself," Cordelia smiled painfully up at her neighbour, glad for her friend's company.

"You're very sweet to me, Misty, thank you," she had spent years, dealing with her nightmares on her own. Hank had only ever told her that it was just a silly dream and to go back to sleep… but he had joined her subconscious land of torturous memories, and she had been alone for the previous months, tackling those barren nights of fear by herself.

"Come on ya… lay back down, ya gotta sleep, 'kay?" Cordelia only nodded, doing as she was told she shifted slightly to rest her head on the pillow, suddenly aware of how tired she actually was. The Cajun brought the blankets up as far as they would allow, and tucked the older woman in with a sweet smile before switching off the bed-side lamp.

"Misty?" Cordelia asked quietly, seemingly having trouble with keeping her eyes open as she glanced back to the girl with confusion tugging at her pale features.

"Yeah?" she replied lightly, blinking, still able to face the woman in the darkness of her room.

"Why are you wearing glasses?"

* * *

Cordelia did not want to wake up. She had the day off work so there was no reason for her to seize the day any time before nine o'clock. Seizing had been hereby suspended until further notice. She could see the light of the sun filtering through her drawn curtains, though she had yet to open her eyes. Her mind decided to replay the events that had occurred earlier that morning, when she had woken in fright and sorrow, her sheets clinging to her body with a light sheen of sweat that had been caused from her absolute panic. Her mother's disappointed gloating had always started her nightmares, the words of disgust and hatred. Every spiteful comment that had always struck her heart as a child… and then there was Hank, every painful beating that had struck her body as a woman, when he had come home drunk every other day.

The worst time had been when they had discovered that they could not produce a child, Cordelia's fertility problem had angered the man so much that the following morning the woman winced with every move at the collection of black and purple bruises that had blemished in every area of her body… She had stayed with her aunt Myrtle for a whole week after that, but though she could escape her abusive husband for a day or two, she could never escape the monster that plagued her dreams.

Cordelia sighed, finally opening her eyes and rolling onto her side to reach her phone, expecting to be bombarded with 700+ texts from Zoe, but her gaze fell on a little folded note sitting proudly on the side. With soft confusion, the woman sat up, rubbing her eyes with the back of her hand and picking the note up with the other. It was a folded sheet of lined paper, like a ripped page from a ring-binder journal, and it had 'Cordelia' written on the front in neat, rounded writing. She opened the note, still beyond confused.

 _Dear Miss Cordelia, I couldn't sleep knowing that you were hurt because of the things you see in your dreams, I made this for you, and I hope that it works… There's always a bit of magic in something if you believe in it hard enough, my daddy used to say that,_

 _From Misty x_

Placing the note down in her lap, Cordelia glanced back over to the bedside table, a huge smile lit up on her lips as she reached over and picked up a cute little golden dreamcatcher.

The woman wasted no time in wrestling into a pair of tight jeans, throwing a random t-shirt over her head before skidding across the apartment that was right next to hers. She hadn't even bothered putting on socks or shoes, they were unimportant and could wait. Misty's little gift almost had her tearing up, nobody had ever gotten her something so sentimental, and she had made that? At half one in the morning? Miss Day was a little angel.

Cordelia knocked. She waited.

Usually Misty answered her door within seconds, typically tripping over something first, but ten seconds passed and then twenty. The older woman tried again, calling out her name. No answer came from the inside, and daringly, Cordelia twisted the handle and the door just creaked open like it was waiting for her the whole time. "Misty? Darling you weren't answering the door," she stated with a soft smile as she noticed the blonde curls from the back of the couch. "Mist?"

With no response, the shorter woman approached, almost laughing when she saw the Cajun fast asleep on the couch. She was clutching a cushion to her chest, and her knees tucked into her stomach, honestly, how could a girl curl up that small? Golden tresses fell in front of her face, and a particular strand flew lightly every time she let loose a small puff of breath.

"Misty, wake up," Cordelia giggled quietly, perching on the arm of the sofa. The girl simply whined in response, drugged with fatigue, and remained fighting for her sleep. Misty Day typically wasn't an early bird, rather happy to sleep until noon if she was not disturbed by her alarm, which meant Fridays and Saturdays consisted primarily of sleeping. "Mist-yyy" the woman dragged out her name, laughing gently as the Cajun finally screwed up her face and shook her head.

"Nope," the single syllable came out in a low, husky voice, in a rather stubborn manner, and she rolled over to face the inside of the couch.

"Yes," Cordelia argued with a teasing smile, watching her friend try and fidget her way out of the current predicament, hiding her face in the cushion.

"… What ya doin' in my apartment?" the younger woman finally asked, peeking through one eye and a grin began forming on her lips as she glanced up at the other blonde. The Cajun groaned, forcing herself into a sitting position, still possessively clutching the light blue cushion.

Cordelia did her best not to giggle at the mess that Misty's hair had become after sleeping, it was a sweet type of messy, but it amused her all the same. "I got your little gift, I love it… but honestly, you didn't have to make it so early in the morning!" the older woman explained softly whilst the sleepy blonde just smiled up to her.

"I couldn't wait till later… what if ya had another nightmare before then, huh?" the girl simply radiated kindness, and Cordelia was so beyond grateful.

"You're honestly such a sweet friend, Misty, I'm so lucky," she answered with a smile, slipping down to sit on the couch beside the girl who kept blinking to try and waken herself up some. For a moment, dark mahogany eyes swept around the tidy apartment, fond of the memories of unpacking with the younger woman, and her gaze rest softly on the girl's guitar. "Would you play something for me? On your guitar?"

Misty was taken aback by the question, she had never met anybody who wanted her to play without Madison singing along, and her parents had grown rather irritated every other day when their daughter wanted them to listen to a new piece that she had learnt the night before. It was her parents who had told her that nobody really wanted to listen to solo guitar, and hence the girl had never performed without her friends.

It was rare that anyone was interested. But the girl shook her head softly with a gentle smile. "I ain't used ta playin' without the band, an' trust me, I ain't so good on my own. Maybe another time," she remarked warmly, throwing the cushion to the side, before reaching for her phone, "But," the girl continued, swiping in her pin, "Ya can give me ya number instead?" the Cajun asked hopefully and Cordelia couldn't help but laugh.

"That was so very subtle, Day," the woman shook her head with a grin, accepting the phone and entering her number into the girl's contacts, saving her name with a little heart emoji before handing it back with a smooth grin. Cordelia picked up the little dream catcher once again, admiring the craftsmanship as she glanced to the girl. "I still can't believe you made this for me, I know you well enough by now that you don't like wasting your time being productive,"

The wild blonde had quite a few quips and easy sarcastic responses that could have fit that remark quite nicely, but instead she frowned gently towards the older woman, round blue eyes deep in meaning. "If it helps ya, no time is possibly wasted,"

* * *

Misty and Cordelia sat on the girls couch for an extra half hour for absolutely no reason, though the others company was greatly enjoyed. The older woman sighed eventually, forcing herself to stand up reluctantly. Already she missed sitting on the couch beside the Cajun, but the girl had yet to eat and she might as well do something with her day.

"Where ya goin'?" Misty asked almost dismayed, her brows furrowing softly, and a hopeful gleam coated her sapphire eyes as she stared up at her neighbour.

Cordelia laughed quietly, shaking her head from side to side. "You need to eat, and while I'm here all we can seem to do is talk, don't get me wrong, I do enjoy talking with you Misty," she admitted with a reassuring grin, still focusing her gaze on the suddenly pouting Cajun.

"That ain't true! We unpacked yesterday!" the woman let loose a quiet 'touché' and the tanned girl continued, "An' I ain't got anything in yet, I'm goin' grocery shoppin' today…" a little silence fell between them and without breaking eye contact, Misty stuck out her bottom lip, "Please stay?"

The offer was tempting and the sleepy looking girl begging her was almost irresistible. "No," Misty looked hurt and the woman was quick to follow on, "Let me make breakfast,"

The girls face lit up, and she caught her bottom lip between her teeth softly. "Really? Ya mean it?"

"Yes, you Goof, Come over when you've woken up a bit more," Misty giggled lightly, beaming at the older woman with a smile that was brighter than the sun.

"Thank ya, Miss Cordelia!" the Cajun stated delightedly, bringing the cushion back to her chest as if she just wanted something to hug in that moment.

"It's not a problem dear, … oh, and Misty?" she paused, only steps closer to the door.

"Yeah?"

"Why is it every time I see you, you're not wearing any pants?" the two of them chuckled quietly, the girl glanced down at her oversized Fleetwood Mac shirt that fell to the tops of her milky-white thighs.

"Hey, leave my wardrobe outta this," Misty commented as a roseate blush tinted her cheeks, but all she heard was Cordelia's laughter on her way out of her apartment with the little Golden dreamcatcher in her delicate grasp.


	5. She's cute and wearing my jacket

Misty Day was plenty of things. Literally and figuratively. She was a talented guitarist; a confident young lady; a very smart and very sweet girl; an official procrastinator; and an enthusiastic individual with a crafty mind, yes, she was many things, but a tidy person just wasn't one of them. Now she was a lot tidier than many people she knew, and a lot of her friends would agree. If anyone had ever been in Madison's room and managed to find their way back out alive, they could easily state that Misty was the neatest person in the world. Whereas Madison would have a floor made of clothes and her make-up strewn over every surface, Misty was messier in the physical sense.

For example, having tomato ketchup spots staining her shirt, while a lock of her wild blonde hair ended up with a streak of bright red from the condiment… And that is what Cordelia witnessed the morning she invited the Cajun over for breakfast. So now Misty sat at the table in Cordelia's lavish and stunningly clean kitchen, making a mess of herself.

The older blonde had managed to contain her laughter the first few incidents that Misty had with the ketchup. It had been the girls own fault that she had put way too much on her bacon sandwich, and now with every bite, the sauce oozed from the bun and landed somewhere, either on the plate or on the young woman herself. Of course, they weren't playing the blame game, and although Misty kept apologizing when it happened, Cordelia was having a grand old time watching her paint her own clothes and face with Ketchup.

But watching the red-smeared girl for just a moment longer, the shorter woman had no option but to laugh at the situation, placing down half her sandwich. "Oh my God, Misty," she chuckled, tearing off a sheet of kitchen towel so the girl could wipe her face. "Are you sure you're not three?" The Cajun glared playfully, wiping her lips, entirely missing the patch that had… managed to get on her cheek? How did that even happen?

"I put too much sauce on, it ain't my fault, an' I'm nineteen, not three!" she defended, taking another huge bite of her breakfast. Nineteen… so Zoe would finally be pleased that she had an answer to one of her thousand questions that were based around the mystery neighbour. One down 999 to go.

"Misty, you don't understand! It looked like you lost a fight with an angry tomato!" Wide blue eyes looked up in mock pain at the woman's words, whilst chewing. Cordelia waited patiently, as the girl clearly had something to say that would follow on, probably something smart and witty… which was the exact opposite of the words that did come defiantly from the others lips.

"I could take a tomato," Misty declared stubbornly, pouting a little at the idea of losing a fight against … well, a tomato? That was just insulting, but still the girl fought her laughter at the conversation with her new friend.

"Well perhaps you can start by taking the tomato off your chin, and then maybe your left cheek too," the dark eyed woman giggled quietly before finishing her own breakfast, seated opposite the sauce-covered Cajun.

"My fingers are sticky," the girl complained, electing to ignore Cordelia's previous statement. A warming grin lit up her face as she glanced to the older woman with a mischievous sparkle coating her wide sapphire eyes.

"Yeah? Well as long as you don't touch me with those sticky fingers of yours," She teased, raising the cup of tea to her lips, intently studying the wild blonde over the rim. She liked looking at her… almost in the same way other people enjoyed looking at paintings or artefacts in a museum. But Misty was no painting, or artefact. Her eyes alone could've been painted by Gods, and even Van Gough couldn't hold a candle to the art of her smile.

"Oh yeah? An' what would ya do if I did?" She asked playfully, holding up her hands unsurely, trying not to touch anything, either so she didn't make any more mess, or so she didn't stick to everything she touched.

"Misty Day don't you dare! I'll never let you back in this Apartment." Cordelia warned sternly, even though her amused smile still remained prominent on her lips. As the Cajun whined at the newly discovered information, the older woman let loose a rich chuckle, reaching for the back of the girl's hands, and wiping across her palms and fingers with the paper towel, and then carefully brushed the cloth over her cheek and the corner of her lips. "There, all clean," Together, they laughed, a combined melody that could've put a choir to shame.

"Ya such an awesome person, Miss Cordelia," the taller blonde admitted with a fond smile residing brightly on her warming features. She felt her stomach tingle delightedly, and Misty refused to believe that it was the sandwich that gave her insistent butterflies. She loved food, but not _that_ much.

"That's such a nice thing to say, Sweetheart. Is it alright with you if I accompany you shopping? After all, if you're going to stock up your apartment, you're going to need more than two hands. And anyway, I need to pick up some things myself, like tomato sauce," she let a soft giggle vibrate on her lips as she watched the Cajun frown jokingly at the last comment, mumbling under her breath before breaking out into an enormous grin.

"I'd love ta have ya taggin' along!" Misty laughed, pushing the chair back and helping to clear the dishes away.

* * *

Late morning mist began to clear, residing back into the damp, thick atmosphere as dew laden grass sparkled when the sun caught the crystallized droplets, all the while casting watercolour strokes of orange and pink onto a canvas of thin layered clouds. The refreshing, humid air wrapped around the two women like a heavy coat of chain mail as New Orleans enveloped them into its morning embrace.

Cordelia pointed out several buildings and areas that might hold interest to Misty, including one or two restaurants as she showed her into town. Everything was rather impressive to the girl: the fountains, the shops, even the barbers that had the spinning red and white striped decoration that Misty believed to be a short candy cane.

When the two finally made it, they had played several games of eye-spy (yes, Cordelia was positive that she was hanging out with a five-year-old) and they had also had a wonderful conversation about Louisiana swamps, Misty didn't seem to mind answering her questions.

"So… what was Winter like for you?" Cordelia asked softly, watching the Cajun reach for a box of cereal, turning around with a tremendous smile on her lips.

"Absolutely wonderful! We gotta lake round the back of the house that used ta freeze over when it got real cold… My daddy taught me ta skate when I was a kid, bought me my first skates when I was jus' six," the wild blonde explained with a happy look in her eyes. "My ma didn't like the weather though, it got too much, an' she got ill whenever the temperature dropped lots… she'd always make the best Christmas dinner though, even despite it all," Misty nodded, grinning fondly at the memories. "What was winter like for ya?"

Cordelia had hoped that she wouldn't have to say much about her own life, between her childhood years her late adult years, everything had gone wrong, and she only had a handful of good memories. Fiona had gone out of her way to make her daughter miserable it seemed.

"I spent many Christmases with my Aunt Myrtle, but before that… I built my first snowman when I was seven, I don't think I'd ever been prouder of anything," the woman smiled, and they continued that way for the rest of the trip around the shop. Getting to know a little bit more about each other.

Cordelia's phone rang whilst they stood in the queue and with a frown, the woman pulled her cell from her pocket and glanced down at the screen. "Work's calling," she explained to a silent misty before answering the call, "Hello? Yes, I know. You want me in? Well if Zoe said it's right then it's right. Okay, I'll be there at four," she sighed and hung up with an apologetic grin.

"They sound fun" Misty laughed and the older woman couldn't help but chuckle along with her.

"Misty, did you know it was raining?" Cordelia pondered as they packed the plastic bags with every item that passed the scanner.

"Yep," the Cajun grinned, loading another heavy bag into the cart.

"Misty, did you know you bought five boxes of cereal?" the older blonde inquired, and the taller girl turned to her with a grin and winked.

"Yep, hold on let me pay," Misty found her bag, pulling out her keys and her phone before locating her purse and paying for the purchase. She shoved the purse back inside her bag and pocketed her phone, and together, the two ventured out into the pouring rain that had started thrashing down half an hour ago.

* * *

Misty usually liked the rain. She liked it back home when the sky was cast in thick, miserable, grey clouds and the rain drummed off the windowsill, creating puddles on the path down the garden. She would find the sound soothing and the atmosphere pleasant when she was inside with the fire blazing and the fat family cat, fast asleep on her lap. That… she adored. However, being drenched to the bone, her clothes sticking to her alabaster skin as her blonde curls had darkened several shades and clung to her neck, that… she didn't adore. She and Cordelia were soaked entirely and shivering like leaves that were being brutalized by a threatening wind.

"Ya so shouldn't a came with me," The Cajun grumbled, as she hauled the majority of bags, hoping everything she bought was somewhat waterproof. Why didn't it rain yesterday when she didn't leave her apartment… she swore the weather had something serious against her.

"Nonsense, Misty Darling," Cordelia stated, trying her best to sound fine with the situation. She didn't mind getting a little wet and she enjoyed the girls company. "Let's just get home, hmm?" The drenched curly blonde nodded grudgingly as they made their way back to the block.

"When you said…" Cordelia began, grunting softly as she rearranged the bag handles that dug into her palms "that you were stocking your apartment, I didn't know…" she paused again to fill her lungs with much needed breath once they made it to the top of the stairs, "That you were planning to stock for hibernation."

Misty shivered, barely able to construct a sentence with how cold and wet she was, but if she had the ability, she would have laughed at Cordelia's newly found sarcasm. The Cajun dumped the shopping bags outside of her door, slumping against the wall before reaching for her bag with what little energy she had left. The girl frowned before her searching became frantic, digging through her bad several more times. "Delia… ya seen my keys?" The shorter blonde, shook her head almost alarmed when Misty confirmed that she had lost her keys for good, trying to wrack her brain as to where she put them.

"Hey, don't beat yourself about it, just come into my apartment, we can phone reception to get you a replacement key and dry off a little, while we wait," Cordelia decided softly with a sweet smile and Misty nodded, still dumbfounded by her stupidity. And it was as if the older woman had read her mind, as she felt a soft hand rest upon her shoulder. "It's not your fault, Mist, come in, I'll even let you put your ice cream in my freezer so it doesn't melt," This seemed to win her over and the Cajun began collecting her bags.

"Uh-huh… Uh-huh… yes. Yes, room Twenty-two. Uh-huh. No, I'm not her legal guardian! Cordelia Goode… Room Twenty-one. Uh-huh… Uh-huh… that's great, thank you," The woman smiled into the phone before tiredly slamming the thing down on its stand. "Good News! You should be able to get your key by tonight," Cordelia called from her living room and listened close to see if Misty had heard her. The girl was in her bedroom, after she had given the Cajun a thick towel and free selection of any dry clothes that would fit her.

"Tonight? What am I supposed ta do 'til then?" the girl questioned from her room, studying her reflection. Cordelia had instructed her to take off everything that was wet, and now she was standing in her best friends bedroom in nothing but a luxury towel that wrapped around her body and her boxer short Calvin Klein underwear (They were a little damp but she was refusing to parade around in Cordelia's clothes commando).

"Stay here, you goof! I won't mind" the older blonde announced back, crossing her legs on the couch and towel-drying her soaking hair, trying not to giggle at the idea of Misty changing into her clothes. It was a few minutes later, having heard nothing but silence since her last statement until Cordelia heard the girl speak again.

"Ya jackets are so much more comfortable than mine!" the taller blonde whined softly from the bedroom. She had managed to find a comfortable halter top; a pair of jeans that stopped half way up her calves and a grey jacket that she had saw the woman wearing when she brought over the Orchids.

"It's not my fault you have such an odd wardrobe!" Cordelia responded, smiling when Misty finally joined her on the couch. "… And that's my work jacket…Which I need... In thirty minutes." The girl nodded along with the words, as if she knew exactly what she was wearing. _God, she's Cute, and wearing my jacket,_ Cordelia thought to herself, unable to tear her gaze away

"Uh-huh, If I wear this… ya can't go ta work an' we can stay here an' watch a movie!" The accented blonde giggled, and the older woman tried to contain the grin that was fighting over her lips.

"Oh my God, you little plotter, how long did it take you to hatch that little plan, huh Einstein?" she teased glancing to the girl who looked extraordinarily pleased with herself.

"Two minutes?" Misty estimated, laughing lightly as she watched the shorter blonde who was shaking her head softly. "So, are we watchin' a movie?" hopeful blue eyes widened and Cordelia laughed, contemplating the idea.

"I'll watch a film with you… if you give me back my jacket," the woman bargained with a playful grin.

"I ain't taking it off." Misty responded with a stubborn grin and the other blonde threw her hands up in mocking despair.

"Fine I'll go to work without a top on huh?" Cordelia inquired and for a brief moment, she thought she saw those ocean-blue eyes light up with a smirk. "You'd like me to freeze?" she layered the emotion on her voice with a small pout.

"No…" The Cajun finally agreed with a sigh, "I want ya ta stay here an' keep warm with me," the two laughed gently together and the brown-eyed beauty just shook her head.

"Go pick a film, I'm going to get into my uniform, I want my jacket back before I leave," She quickly talked Misty through using her television, and with that, the shorter woman disappeared into her bedroom.

Misty was deep into the beginning of the the lion king when Cordelia finally finished getting herself ready, and much to her amusement, her jacket was still covering the Cajuns arms. With a sudden thought, the older woman tried not to giggle as she crossed the room still out of her neighbours view, and with a smirk, turned up the thermostat.

It was only five minutes and she was regretting her decision; fanning herself and resisting the urge to sit in front of the fridge with an ice pop. Her dark eyes trained on the young girl with determination, and finally, when all hope seemed lost, Misty shrugged out of her jacket subconscious to her actions. With a winning grin Cordelia turned the heating back down and leant over the back of the couch with a smirk, her lips just inches from the Cajuns ear.

"Thank you, darling," before Misty could register what she was getting thanked for, the woman snatched back her jacket and sliding it over her arms.

"Ya such a cheater, Delia!" Misty exclaimed, blinking in surprise before everything clicked, but Cordelia only laughed.

"Too bad… Are you sure you're going to be alright, Mist? You have my number if you need anything," the girl nodded slowly, smiling at the other in her uniform. Damn she looked good in that… really really good in that.

"Anythin' at all?"

"Anything at all," Cordelia confirmed before smiling to the girl, "Be good," she stated teasingly before unlocking her door, waving goodbye and shutting it behind her.

She hadn't even gotten to the stairs yet before she felt her phone vibrate, and pulling it from her bag, she saw an unknown contact light up her screen.

 **I miss you. -Misty** _Sent just now_

Cordelia smiled brightly, feeling her heart accelerate before saving the girls number to her phone.

* * *

The journey home from work was just downright annoying. Fatigue had long since been bestowed upon the woman and Cordelia was having trouble keeping her eyes open, it wasn't until she had been forced to focus on where the cab was taking her, that she finally understood how late it actually was.

Her thoughts drifted distractedly to the young wild-haired blonde that she had left watching movies in her apartment. God, was her apartment still existing? Was Misty still awake? Had her fridge been raided by a rogue Cajun? The idea made a bubble of laughter escape her lips as she sat in the leather back seats of the cab, and Cordelia was sure she was freaking out the driver by giggling to herself like this.

After paying and exiting the cab, the woman had never been so relieved to see this block of flats. The lights inside looked welcoming, and the promise of going home to see Misty, that made her happy, even if she didn't want to admit to that just yet. Cordelia hurried through the lobby so eagerly that she almost didn't hear the receptionist call out to her.

"Yo, skinny white lady!" Miss Goode paused abruptly at the unexpected exclamation, and confused, she made her way to the front desk where Queenie sat looking up at her with a bored, tired grimace. "You up in room twenty-one, right?" Cordelia nodded robotically, "Uh-huh… well your Gypsy neighbour ain't come down for her key replacement, mind taking it up? I ain't supposed to 'leave this seat'," Queenie mumbled, as if she was recounting orders. The blonde nodded again, softer this time and took the key that was being held out to her.

"I'll make sure she gets this, thank you," She smiled tiredly, bidding the woman goodnight before taking the stairs with a little thrill of excitement in her stomach.

Cordelia pushed open her door with the quietness of a mouse, praying silently that her hinges weren't going to squeak, just in case Misty was asleep. And the older woman thanked God for a moment, for the hinges and for her guessing as she observed the sleeping girl that laid on her couch. Locking the door softly, Delia tip-toed further into the living room, pausing by the arm of the sofa.

The Cajun looked so peaceful, with her eyes shut lightly, her face relaxed instead of that famous beam of a smile she wore constantly, which, don't get her wrong, Cordelia adored that smile, but sleeping Misty was so serene. The thin blanket washed up to her elbows, and she curled slightly so that she would fit on the cushions… _Oh God, she's so cute, how could anyone ever look so cute sleeping?_ Her golden curls were pushed back, and her alabaster skin was illuminated by the light of the television that was still on and playing. She glanced softly to the screen and bit back laughter when she saw what was playing. 'Princess and the Frog' the film Zoe bought her this Christmas. Trust Misty Day to find a Disney film with a singing Crocodile in it.

Cordelia located the remote that had tucked itself away next to the wild blonde, and she switched off the TV letting her apartment settle in silence and darkness, save for the little lamp that bathed the girls face in a flattering golden glow. She found an edge of the blanket and pulled the material up to the Cajun's neck. There wasn't any way she was having Misty freeze in the night.

With a warm, satisfied smile, Cordelia reached out to tenderly stroke a golden lock of the girl's curly tresses with transfixed affection, before leaning low to press a very chaste kiss to that gorgeous, unruly hair. "Goodnight Misty," The shorter woman whispered, before making her way into her room with a grin that could have lit up the darkest of rooms.


	6. Her Hero

The first time that Fiona Goode struck her innocent, beguiling daughter was when the girl was only six years of age.

Of course, Cordelia never forgot about it for one simple reason, and that was because her dreams never let her forget, not a single thing got past her subconscious mind. Every beating from her mother and her husband, every vile word that ever crossed their harsh lips decided to replay when she was fast asleep. It turned out that her mind was sentimental, and decided to force the young woman to remember the time when her mother first lay a firm hand upon the sweet Cordelia.

 _The little six-year-old was an innocent adventurer with a beautiful soul, mind, heart and face. Her soft blonde hair was braided in two, hanging over her shoulders, and a smile illuminated her face every day as if nothing could ever break her spirit, and for six whole years, nothing ever did. She was cheerful and well-mannered, the perfect child in every single way, much like a trained puppy with obedience classes. Her mother had taught her early on, to only speak when spoken to; not to slouch; be polite and most of all, try not to associate herself with the older woman when they had company._

 _But that day, Cordelia sat on the couch with tears streaming down her spotless porcelain cheeks; she could taste the salt water on her cushioned lips as she made no effort to draw in the pitiful cries that escaped her. The girl held her right hand in her left, quivering in pain and fear, and she jumped when her mother strode into the living room with an all too common scowl painting her features._

 _"_ _Jesus, Delia! Would you cease your intrusive wails? What the hell is the matter with you?" She barked sharply, observing her crying daughter with a mere frown tugging at her thin lips that balanced a freshly-lit cigarette, making no move to comfort her own child._

 _The little blonde bit down hard on her bottom lip, glancing down at her hands as another sob forced its way through her throat. "T-the bumble bee b-bit me," Cordelia stuttered as a new wave of boiling hot tears caressed her flesh in a more loving and tender way than her mother ever did._

 _"_ _Bit you? Bloody Hell Cordelia! Bees don't bite, they sting, are you out of your God-damn mind? God, what the fuck do you learn at your crappy school?" Fiona's vicious ambush made the six-year-old flinch in alarm, her lip trembling before meekly trying to answering her mother with satisfactory standards._

 _"_ _A-arithmetic and Science," her voice came out weak and broken as she wiped away the tears with the back of her left hand, momentarily ignoring the pain that throbbed in her other palm._

 _"_ _A-arithmetic and Science," Fiona sneered in an awful mimic, "And I'm betting your as useless at that as you are with everything else," Cordelia stifled another sob, finally getting her tears under control. Truth be told, she was top of her classes, which the woman would have known had she ever attended any of the parents meetings, and it wasn't as if she could tell her mother… Fiona would never be interested and surely accuse her of being an insufferable cheat. "So, why were you playing with a Bee, Delia? Don't have any friends and thought the insect would play hide-and-seek with you?" The little girl looked on the verge of tears again. It was true she didn't have friends, but it was her mother that forbade her to go out._

 _"_ _T-today we learnt that… that bees he-help the flowers to grow outside. And I… well I tried to catch a bee to make the flowers grow inside, too," Cordelia admitted in a frightened whisper, lip trembling still as her mother was now stood directly in front of her with that famous glare of despise and disappointment._

 _"_ _You Stupid, stupid girl!" the woman screamed causing the tears to leak from dark chocolate eyes, as the girl still clutched her stinging hand, unable to manage eye contact with the furious woman with whom she shared a life. "We don't even have flowers inside, you know how I hate the smell of pollen," Fiona spat, rolling her eyes at her mess of a daughter, her living, breathing curse._

 _Cordelia's eyes widened in sudden realisation and panic, tears spilling down her cheeks. She had forgotten entirely that her mother despised pollen as much as she despised her own daughter. Without further question, the woman turned to where her brat was staring, instantly spotting the decorative tulips that stood proudly in a little vase in the centre of the table._

 _Fiona turned back to the girl, almost turning red. "You goddamn idiot!" the six-year-old whimpered, shuffling back further into the couch. "Where did you even get those Cordelia? Did you steal them?" The little blonde desperately shook her head, over and over, her vision was blurring with tears that glazed over her eyes. The idea that the girl could possibly take anything that didn't belong to her already was preposterous. "No, you're too pathetic for that I suppose," Fiona contradicted to herself lazily blowing a thin stream of smoke from her cigarette._

 _"_ _Th-the Garden," a timid reply spilt from her lips and Cordelia heard a sharp smack resonating throughout the room. It took much longer than it should have to realise what had just happened, and it wasn't until the searing pain began to flood across her cheek did the girl finally understand that Fiona had slapped her. The pain was intense, and it made her completely forget about the bee sting as she brought up a shaking hand to soothe the burning skin._

 _"_ _God! You're not only worthless, you're as dumb as well! What have you got to say, Delia?" the unamused woman prompted, flexing the hand that she had used to hurt her own daughter, as if she was more concerned with the contour of her fingers than the bright red mark she had left on the side of the girl's face._

 _"_ _I was just trying to make it brighter mommy" Cordelia explained quietly, hanging her head as she sniffled._

 _"_ _Brighter? Goddammit girl, we do need a bit of brightness to make up for your lack of sense! And for God's sake, stop slouching!" Fiona reprimanded, turning on her heel before leaving her daughter in more pain than before, crying whilst trying to fix her posture. The woman stormed past the table, pushing the glass vase off its surface, sending the tulips to the floor. Glass and water spread across the wooden floor, the flowers laid disregarded and as broken as Cordelia. "Clean that mess up before someone ends up getting hurt,"_

* * *

Cordelia sat up, stiff and straight in her bed with a flash of raw emotion settling during her slumbers, her right hand resting over her racing heart as the woman sighed softly, glancing at her surroundings with a comforting gaze. She was in her room, in her apartment, alone, and the blonde smiled weakly as she reached over to run an ethereal fingertip across the lace web that Misty Day had threaded in the dream catcher. _There's always a bit of magic in something if you believe in it hard enough._ She believed in Misty...

Speaking of that darling Cajun... _Oh my god, Misty's living on my Couch._ The older woman ripped back her covers, padding into the other room in her silken cream nightclothes, it was the girls third night in the flats, and had only managed to sleep in her own bed once (not even that, considering she woke up on the floor the next morning).

Cordelia perched on the arm of her couch, stealing a moment just to admire the way the Cajun slept. One arm snaked underneath the cushion where her head rest, golden curls fanned out in a ravishing display; her other arm rest lightly across her stomach, just managing to keep the blanket in place. Her hips angled towards the room, back pressed against the sofa and her legs curled up slightly to her side. Not to mention, she was still clad in the other womans clothes, and the sight almost made the older blonde lose breath.

The girls face was Angelic. There were so very many adjectives that Cordelia could've used to describe the lush face of Misty Day… beautiful, stunning, glamorous, but angelic could only define the features that were hand-crafted by God, the way her long lashes curled naturally; the way her lips parted ever-so-slightly with every exhale; the alabaster skin, smooth as marble; and when she was awake, the little flecks of light that caught her eyes that made them shine like diamonds, and illuminate every shade of blue under the sun. Angelic was exactly the perfect word.

"Mist, it's time to wake up," Cordelia chided softly, perching on the arm rest of her sofa whilst tucking a loose strand of honey-comb hair behind the girl's ear. She couldn't help but smile at how radiant the wild blonde was. She had the grace and delicacy of a doe, but had the fierceness of a lion, hell she had the mane of one too, and my, was she perfect.

"It's Saturday, shoo," Misty mumbled, nuzzling contently into the cushion that propped up her head, the words causing a genuine giggle to erupt from the older woman's soft lips. The girl was breath-taking, with the way she spoke, the way she acted, there was nobody as endearing as Misty Day. The wild blonde looked on the verge of going back to sleep, and absent-mindedly Cordelia combed her long, agile digits softly through the Cajun's golden curls, causing her to shiver gently in response.

"What, no hi?" the older blonde chuckled reminiscing the thought of Misty turning up at her door in those boots that moulded against her calves, to take her to dinner. The wild girl couldn't banish the smile that had rooted upon her lips and her hand slipped from beneath the cushion, reaching to run smooth fingertips across Cordelia's wrist as she stroked her hair.

"Hi," Misty replied in a low, husky voice as she forced open her eyes, greeted by the beautiful vision of her neighbour grinning down at her. "this gonna become a regular thing? Ya wakin' me up?" the younger woman yawned, sitting up, blinking several times as she glanced at her surroundings. "I'm... in ya apartment..." she observed glancing down to get own body, "I'm in ya clothes," the memories of falling asleep to Disney and all previous came flooding back and Misty faced Cordelia with a playful grin, "Something happen last nigh' that I don' remember?" she teased, earning a soft nudge in return.

"Maybe," Cordelia answered, smiling brightly to the sleepy Cajun "and no, we both got wet," the older blonde corrected before slowly shutting her eyes as the girl snickered beside her. "That's not what I meant," she groaned whilst allowing the smirk to edge its way onto her lips.

"Sounds like a night a fun ta me," Misty giggle earning another playful shove from her friend, but the wild blonde caught her hand and pulled the older woman to sit down on the couch right next to her instead of perching on its arm. Together they laughed, so sweet and in harmony and it occurred to neither that their hands were still joined.

* * *

They had spent most the morning together, but later that day Cordelia had gone to work and Misty had agreed to meet Madison who had not stopped bugging her since late Wednesday night. The Cajun had muted the contact, purely because waking up to 52 texts was sincerely overwhelming, but now, late evening, she was on her way to Coyotes Bar to meet her Hollywood idolising best friend.

The club smelt awfully like strong liquor, smoke and sweat, like too many people had disregarded their troubles in booze and proceeded to dance wildly with their buddies. The racket was extreme and the music was just noise to Misty's ears, she wondered several times if Madison had spoken or not, but with the volume, she simply couldn't tell. Her best friend had decided their meeting required a short blue dress barely scraping her thighs and her long, straight blonde tresses left down, and Misty couldn't help feeling uncomfortable with the crowds and only Madison for comfort.

"Hey!" Madison snapped her fingers in front of unfocused blue eyes, the wannabe star fixing her with an amused frown. "What's the matter with you curly-locks? Got someone on your mind?" she ordered a pair of drinks, spinning on her stool at the bar to face Misty who was almost scowling at the comment.

The curly blonde scoffed with an exaggerated eyeroll, "No, ya know me Maddi, the'80 year-old virgin' as ya like ta say," accepting the drink, Misty stared at her reflection in the glass, cursing Maddi's interest in her practically non-existing love life.

"I can not believe that after all this time you still think I'm stupid and can't tell when your hiding something," Montgomery snickered, leaning closer to the Cajun. "I'm going to venture a guess, huh?" Misty rolled her eyes again, she was always playing games. "Okay… it's a woman, your gay ass couldn't handle a guy coming onto you,"

Misty's cheeks turned red immediately, another thing about Madison was her way of making every other statement crude in the simplest of ways. Yet, she remained silent, deciding to let her friend play out the rest of her guessing game.

"Your type is sweet, romantic, cute looking, with a great butt," the girl choked on her drink, her brow arching skyward.

"I ain't got a type!" Misty defended, almost glowering, making Madison laugh at how easily she broke her best friend.

"Yes you do, she's shorter than you, blonde hair, fantastic figure if I do say so myself, and takes the form of your next-door neighbour?" the starlet announced, taking a victory sip from her cocktail as Misty went quiet again. "Don't worry about it Honey, you basically radiated gay-lust feelings when you drooled over her on Wednesday night. Now come on, let's drink!"

* * *

Cordelia had been impatiently counting down the hours to the end of her shift shortly after arriving to work and had her intense chocolate gaze glued to the clock in every spare second, wishing she could go home and maybe drop in on Misty, her favourite night owl. God how the time slowed down whenever you wanted it so desperately to hurry up.

Finally, the time arrived and the woman leapt from her seat like she was on springs as soon as the minute hit and immediately began collecting her papers that spread over half her desk like snow. It was out of pure habit that Cordelia Goode checked her phone as she tidied, her delighted beam morphing into a delicate frown upon the realisation that she had three missed calls from Misty, and with curious alarm, she wasted no time in calling her neighbour. What could have been so important? She drummed her fingertips softly, anxiously waiting for the Cajun to answer her phone.

 _"_ _Hello?"_ The older blonde couldn't help but smile in relief, hearing her friend through the receiver. However, there was an edge to the girl's tone that Cordelia was unused to, a draft of exhaustion perhaps?

"Misty, is everything okay? You tried to call, I'm sorry, my phone is silent during work hours," she explained in concern, whilst hearing prolonged shuffling on the other side of the phone followed by a soft thump

 _"_ _Delia?"_ a confused whisper responded, making the older woman frown with troubled grace and clutch the phone closer to her ear, unable to help the short panic that rose in the hollow pit of her stomach.

"Yes sweetheart, it's me. Are you alright?" Misty shook her head gently from side to side, and it took longer than it should have to remember that Cordelia couldn't see her actions through a call. Her back slumped against the wall in a cubical, sinking to the floor to assume a crouching position, clinging to the device with both hands.

" _I-I want ta go home,"_ it sounded like she was on the verge of crying, sniffling and the emotion etched deep into her tone, " _I think someone messed with my drink,"_ the girl confessed dozily and Cordelia dropped her files, alarm flashing in dark eyes.

"Misty! Misty, where are you darling?" The woman was already exiting through the front doors of the building, her pace increasing along the sidewalk until she was almost at a jog.

" _I-I'm at the Coyote Bar… Madison made me, I can't find her Delia,"_ The Cajun whimpered, the sound alone breaking Cordelia's heart into a million fragments. Her hair whipped the back of her neck, her raced steps unsteady as she ran in her heels, chocolate eyes scanning the blocks until she found the correct turn.

"Stay where you are, Misty, I'm coming to get you,"

* * *

When Cordelia found Misty, the older womans heart was racing and breaking at the same time, whilst anger flooded through her veins, how could anyone want to hurt her pure little Misty? She was a child of God, so in depth with the world around her, and… wait, _her_ Misty? Where the heck had that come from? Yet all her anger vanished when she saw the Cajun sitting on the floor in the grimy bathroom, her head leaning back against the cubicle.

She looked pale, paler than usual, and the ugly fluorescent lighting was no help and her usually bright blue eyes seemingly vacant. It took Misty longer than it should have to notice the other woman who had dropped to her knees and had her arms tight around the girl. "Cordelia! What're ya doin' here?" she asked like she had already forgotten the phone call, but had no problem settling straight into the embrace the woman had pulled her into.

"I'm buying Christmas trees." Cordelia answered in such gullible seriousness that the Cajun couldn't help but giggle, like a genuine burst of brightness escaping the weak layer of drugged fatigue. She rest her temple softly against the others, a curtain of gold with blonde curls. "I came to take you home," She corrected, smiling at the other and Misty gazed up to her like she was her knight in shining armour.

"Ya my Hero, Miss Cordelia," the older blonde almost cried at that, she had missed the endearing term that only Misty added to her name, despite how many times she had tried to assure the girl that there was no need for the formalities.

Her arms wrapped tightly around Misty as she guided them both to their feet. She would've loved this moment, feeling the Cajun lean dependently into her, feeling her arm around her in return and feeling the ghost of her warm breath tingle against her neck, she would've loved this moment, if she wasn't absolutely petrified for the sake of the younger woman's well-being.

Cordelia shepherded her neighbour out of the bathroom, and tried to be as quick as possible, but she couldn't help feeling on edge as two men waited right outside the bathroom doors, reeking of alcohol and wearing disgusting smirks on their faces. "Hey Baby," the taller of the two laughed, almost nauseating the shorter blonde with his breath. But he was talking to Misty, reaching out to stroke her cheek.

"Don't touch her!" Cordelia defended, her grip tightening around the girl's body, who whimpered, flinching at the man's touch and clinging to the older woman for all she was worth. "You don't deserve a girl like her, you don't even deserve pigs to screw, even though you're both swine's yourselves," she spat, the flames of anger flickering in her dark eyes.

It was clearly obvious the duo wasn't used to backchat, especially not from a female, for they just looked dumb standing there with no words before Cordelia barged past with Misty, ignoring the jeering that came from them. "Your Cordelia can't save you forever, girl," The woman stopped, shocked as to how her name came harshly from this strangers lips, she didn't know him, so how was it he knew her?

She stood defiantly, Misty glancing up to her with wide eyes. "Yes, yes I can,"

* * *

Misty's head was rhythmically throbbing when they finally made it back to her apartment. She was awfully aware with how much she was relying on Cordelia, leaning into her side and accepting the slow help up the stairs. The world was spinning about her like a merry-go-round that she so desperately wanted to get off of, and her vision blurred from time to time. She didn't even remember the journey from the bar to her block, only that Cordelia had prevented her from falling every time she tripped on a stair.

"Misty, sweetheart, can you hear me?" she blinked uncertainly. She was sitting on her bed, still in her jeans and her shirt, Cordelia had helped her out of her jacket. The wild blonde nodded, smiling to the woman who crouched in front of her with a worried expression.

"I can hear ya, Dee… Ya don' have ta look so- so petrified, I ain't dead," the Cajun smiled weakly, even more so at the soft laugh that descended from her neighbour's lips.

"According to this article, whatever they gave you should wash out in about twelve hours," the older woman sighed, consulting Google before glancing back up to Misty. "I think you'll be much better after a wonderful night's sleep, don't you?" The curly blonde gave a curt nod, wriggling her nose softly. She was the cutest.

"Dee… I don't sleep great in pants," the drugged girl pouted, staring slightly at the woman in front of her.

"Darling, you don't do anything in pants, you never like wearing pants." Cordelia teased gently and Misty almost slipped off her bed with her amount of genuine laughter. It took her a whole minute to finally control the bursts of giggles that flew past her lips, and it made the older blonde smile at the sight.

Without any indication, Misty unbuttoned her jeans and slid them down her long legs, throwing the attire across the room to hang off her chair. Cordelia did her absolute best to keep her chocolate gaze fixed on the girls face, her eyes, her lips, but sweet heaven those legs were to die for.

"Sweetheart… how did that man, back at the club… how did he know my name?" she questioned, finally remembering the odd occurrence. Hey eyes were trained on the girls features, expecting to see her shudder or something at the vile recollection of memories, but instead she swore she saw Misty blushing.

"He… They tried hittin' on me earlier as soon as Maddison got up ta dance. I-I told 'em I… I wasn' interested, th-that I had-had a girlfriend," the wild blonde stuttered, struggling to make the sentence under the unwelcomed influence of her spiked drink. Cordelia frowned softly, her hands reaching to cup both the Cajun's cheeks soothingly.

"And you… used my name?" It was almost endearing, she felt a jolt run through her body at the thought.

"It was the-the only name I could remember," the taller blonde confessed, leaning into the welcome touch against her cheeks, and Cordelia felt butterflies erupt within her, smiling softly to her friend.

"You sleep well, dear, promise me?" she pleaded, pulling the girls bed sheets over her body when she laid down, tucking the girl in like she was a child. Misty nodded, wide, hopeful blue eyes staring up at the woman, before holding her hand out to her.

"Miss Cordelia? Could ya… Would ya stay with me tonight?" the Cajun begged, tears forming in her eyes and it broke the woman to see such fragility in the strongest person she had ever met. Before she even knew what she was doing, Cordelia slipped into the bed beside Misty.

"Anything for you, my daring," The curly blonde shuffled close into the older woman, shivering lightly and instinct told Cordelia to wrap her arms around the girl, to hold her softly and lightly stroke her hair until Misty Day fell asleep, cuddling into her.


	7. Moaning Myrtle

Zoe knew Cordelia like the back of her right hand, and to put it in context… she knew the back of her right hand very well. She knocked relentlessly on her best friends door for the seventh time, tapping her foot impatiently. Going out this early was not something on the blonde's 'to-do' list unless she had an early morning shift… which she didn't, so there was no reason whatsoever for the woman to be taking this long to answer her door. Zoe raised her fist for the eighth time, her knuckles had begun to turn a shade of pink at the continuous contact against the wood.

"If you're trying to wake up the whole block, I'd suggest a drum kit… or Karaoke, how's your singing?" A snide voice trailed behind her, causing the brunette to jump and spin to see a slim blonde standing with her hands on her hips and a devious smirk on her features. "Madison Montgomery," the girl introduced herself with mischief dancing in her eyes

"Zoe, Benson," the other woman replied, holding out a hand which the starlet glanced at as if she was unsure about the concept of a handshake, after an awkward moment of apparent judging, Madison shook the offered hand and glanced back to the door that started the situation, taking off her sunglasses and folding them over the collar of her shirt. "Are you a resident here? I apologize if my knocking disturbed you,"

The rich blonde scoffed with an exaggerated eye roll, almost offended by the idea, "Do I look like I would crawl from this dump? I'm here to see Misty," she retorted, hands on her hips as if she was growing bored of standing in the hallway, what was this a social gathering?

The brunette turned back to room twenty-one, tapping her foot as she knocked again. "Well, I'm trying to see Cordelia, she left her files yesterday… but she just…" Zoe gestured to the door in finality, glaring at the wood as if she could see right through it, "Won't open up," the girl finished, glancing back to the blonde who was laughing at her.

"So, your Cordy's friend?" The Starlet smirked, leaning against the wall and angling her hips slightly, she was a bit better dressed today, with pink skinny jeans and a white flowing shirt that she matched with black heels and a Louis Vouton bag dangling from her arm. Zoe nodded in response, and the smirking girl almost brushed past her ignorantly, pulling a small kit from her bag and crouching in front of Misty's door.

"What are you doing? There's security in here!" the other hissed, watching Madison fiddle with the lock to Misty's apartment, whilst an irritated sigh left the blondes painted lips, shooting a glance to the brunette before sticking a finger up at the security Camera watching the hall.

"Grow a pair, Benson, I do this all the time," With a click of the lock, the Hollywood wannabe grinned triumphantly, grabbing Zoe by the cuff of her sweater despite her frantic protests and pulled her inside.

Misty's apartment was oddly quiet, all the curtains closed and not a thing out of place. Zoe spotted a vase of orchids on the table and she glanced quickly to the floor to hide her bright grin, thankful that Cordelia finally listened to her, but still she felt odd being in a stranger's apartment with a girl she had just met. "The walls are real thin, we'll wake up Mist, and you can knock on the wall and wake up her neighbour," Madison finally explained, yanking open the blinds in the kitchen and helping herself to the contents of the fridge as she discarded her bag onto the table.

"Cordelia said that the walls were paper thin," the brunette admitted, overcoming her anxiousness and observing Madison for a moment. Stealing a yogurt, the starlet let the door close on its own, indicating for Zoe to follow her, grabbing a spoon before leading to her best friend's bedroom.

* * *

Cordelia slept better than she had in… in years. Sure, that was the most cliché thing, but it was true. Through the entirety of the night she and Misty went without disruption, cuddled in both of their arms, or nuzzling into her hair and neck, legs draped over each other's. Had either of them been conscious at the time, they would have surely blushed and parted with cheeks and ears enflamed. But that wasn't the case. It was five minutes after nine and again their positions had changed.

Cordelia's torso practically laid on top of the younger blonde, with her one leg curled up to the side of the wild haired girl, the other draping over Misty's own long splendid legs. The shorter woman had her head resting softly on the Cajuns chest, not too far from where her hand was placed above the beating heart of her neighbour. Misty's long, agile fingers were threading through her straightened honey-comb locks with her other arm securely around Cordelia's waist as the covers washed up to the older womans waist, allowing the two women to rely on each other's body heat.

And that, all tangled together, was exactly how Zoe and Madison had found them a minute later.

"Oh my God, Cordelia!" the brunette exclaimed in pure shock, causing the two sleeping blondes to jolt awake in petrified confusion. Seconds passed and after the surprise of seeing their best friends looming in the doorway, they finally noticed their own position, Cordelia clinging to Misty like a lifeline, and the Cajun had her arms still wrapped around the others waist. They let go of each other like a couple of teenagers caught making out by their parents.

"Maddi! What the hell?" Misty almost screamed, looking bewildered to her smug friend who was quite content staring in return whilst stirring her yogurt with the spoon. "I thought so told ya not ta pick my lock!" the Cajun exclaimed with a huff, shuffling to the other side of her bed, Cordelia still in shock.

"Most of the time you're in so I don't need to." Madison disregarded, finally interested in her yogurt, whilst Zoe stared on in bewilderment, like the two cuddle-sleeping was the most fascinating thing on the planet Earth.

"Cordelia…" the brunette prompted, shaking her head like she couldn't believe her eyes.

"Misty," Cordelia whined, finally earning the courage to say something, holding the blanket to her chest although she was still fully clothed. Nothing had happened so why was everyone so tense?

"Madison!" Misty inquired, still rather mad that her best friend was still up to her old tricks, though she was glaring, her heart was racing and her eyes were wide like a deer caught in the headlights.

"Misty?" Madison asked, arching a brow with a smirk as she spooned the yogurt into her mouth with a satisfied glance.

"Cordelia…" the Cajun sighed apologetically, finally glancing to the older woman who had turned bright red, trying and failing to smile.

"Zoe!" Cordelia proclaimed in protest, finally understanding that her best friend had walked into this. The brunette cracked up and all three pairs of eyes locked on her.

"Did you guys…"

"No," Misty shot almost terrified at where this conversation was going, her gaze crossed over Cordelia, the embarrassment washing over her before turning back to Madison. "Ya left me yesterday… I got drugged by some creeps an' ya left me, I called Delia an' she took me home," bringing up the events made her stomach feel vile, she wanted to throw up. The smug grin fell from the starlets lips, and was replaced by an evident frown of concern.

"Gee, Mist, I'm so sorry, I-" She was cut off by the Cajun who finally got to her feet, swaying a little dizzily at the effect wearing off.

"It don' matter, Can ya jus' wait in the kitchen or somethin'?" the two left a stunned Cordelia glancing up to misty, who smiled in return at the woman. "Can I start by sayin' how sorry I am?"

The older woman laughed and shook her head, "You didn't do anything wrong, Misty love, how are you feeling?" she crawled across the Cajun's bed, taking the girls soft hand in her own, causing the wild blonde to gasp gently.

"I feel, real peaceful ta be honest, Miss Cordelia," The shorter woman beamed up at her, unable to resist her dark gaze flickering down for a moment, "This might have gone down better with tweedle-dee and tweedled-dum if you were wearing pants," Misty giggled softly, allowing the other woman to pull her closer. "Good morning Misty,"

"Mornin' Dee,"

* * *

After twenty minutes of explaining awkwardly that nothing had happened between them, and sincere apologising (on Madison's part for leaving her best friend) whilst Cordelia and Zoe didn't say a word to each other, just blushing, everything seemed to be covered, and the four congregated in Misty's lounge, with empty bowls once containing cereal stacked on the table.

"So," Cordelia spoke to Zoe for the first time since awkwardly discovering her friend in her neighbour's room. "What were you even doing, trying to get me up?" the brunette gasped as if she had entirely forgotten, and proceeded to rush into speech.

"You left your files yesterday, Quentin wants you in for thirty minutes to sort out all your desk folders," Cordelia groaned, knowing she'd have to ignore the creases in her uniform to attend work for half an hour, this was ridiculous.

* * *

Cordelia was two-thirds through her surprise shift, and she anxiously waited for ten more to slowly creep by, she was almost done anyway.

"Cordelia Goode, you have a visitor," The blonde glanced up to the secretary, taking off her reading glasses, nobody would usually visit her, except… Misty. With a knowing smirk, the woman glanced back to her papers hearing the door swing open.

"Misty, dear, I said I was only going to be thirty minutes," the woman mused, smiling affectionately as she heard the steps approach her desk.

"Baby Bird?" a thick coated tone broke through the womans thoughts, her head snapped up and her smile widened. Standing in front of her was an older woman with bright orange hair and horned cat-eye glasses. A long light brown coat draped to her hips showing off the polka dot attire beneath it. A warm smile lingered on her lips as she glanced down to the woman sat down at her desk.

"Oh my God, Auntie Myrtle!" jumping to her feet, the young woman didn't hesitate to rush into the wide open arms of her practically adopted aunt. "I'm so happy to see you!" This day was just full of surprises, this one considerably better than the last.

"It's très agréable to see you again my darling," the older woman alternated to French mid-sentence, a habit she had picked up after her return from Paris when Delia was seventeen. A gloved hand rose gently to stroke the side of the blondes face, lingering gently on her cheek. "You thought me to be a person called Misty?" The older woman inquired glancing to her through dark rimmed glasses, noticing the blush that hinted the tips of Cordelia's ears and a betraying smile tugged at her lips. "My little Delia, finally finding herself a girlfriend!" Zoe, who had been intently listening in on the conversation from her desk, laughed softly, spinning in her chair to face the drama.

"She wishes!" the brunette announced, receiving a fully functional death glare from her best friend and an amused grin from Myrtle. The older woman opened her mouth to speak but Cordelia cut across her.

"Myrtle! How can you say that I'm…I'm not even? How long have you been suspecting… about me?" the blonde stuttered, nobody but Zoe knew about her sexual preference, and her brown eyes were wide with shock.

"Please, Delia, you're as queer as a rainbow vomiting unicorn, with juste une touche of sanity, and seeing how miserable you were with your husband…" For the second time, Myrtle was cut off by her goddaughter.

"Ex- husband," Cordelia reminded.

" 'Ex'-husband," she corrected before continuing, "So… are you going to tell me more about this Misty of yours, darling," the way Myrtle arranged her words had the young woman almost shivering. Misty of hers? Misty didn't belong to her, she couldn't belong to anyone. She was so free, so alive and wild. Nobody should be allowed to potentially cage that innocent wonder.

"She's my next-door neighbour, she came a few days ago from Lafayette… Misty Day is a confident, supportive individual… she cares a lot about people and animals, though she swears sometimes when she forgets something, or things just aren't going right, but it's sweet. She loves Stevie Nicks and she's a part of a band, and not afraid to just dance… and when she dances, it's like she's the only person in the world, and in a way she sort of is, she's so unique." Cordelia smiled, a sigh of gentle amusement escaping her lips as she almost forgot Myrtle was staring at her so intently.

"So, you love her, baby bird?" the young woman snapped to her thoughts having focused them on the picture of Misty's face that had saved to her mind.

"Myrtle, you know I can't be in a relationship now, after everything that I've gone through. Love is stupid and it -" it was her turn to be cut of my the orange haired woman who was tutting slightly.

"Don't be a hater dear," The old woman croaked adjusting her glasses, "You're absolutely smitten with this Misty Day, you'll be blind not to see it. What if she feels the same way you do?"

"And what if she doesn't?" Cordelia snapped, until it clicked that she had offhandedly admitted to everything her Aunt had said.

"Then it's up to you to find out… Why don't you take a step forward, watch a movie with her, it doesn't need to be fancy, darling, even it's just you and her in the alluring darkness of your batty, old apartment watching some imprudent film like Of Mice and Men, you make that move, Cordelia,"

The blonde swallowed awkwardly, rather aware of Zoe's gaze penetrating her back.

"Okay,"

She pulled out her phone, fingertips gliding across the screen until the message had been sent to her cute Cajun neighbour.

 **Hi, I was wondering if you would like to watch some movie with me when I get back shortly? -C**

Misty almost jumped when she received the text and her heart soared like a plane, taking off and immediately typed her reply. And so it was, Cordelia and Misty were going to watch a movie.

* * *

When Cordelia got back to her apartment, she drew all the curtains, salvaging several blankets and propping her pillows on the couch to make it more comfortable before switching on her TV. She even pulled out several snacks, just in case of emergencies, like the Cajun getting hungry.

The woman slipped out of her own apartment and straight into Misty's, without even feeling uncomfortable. Since when had she gotten that amount of courage? "Mist, you ready?" Cordelia called, unable to spot her neighbour in her living room.

"I won't be long, I just want ta slip inta something a little more comfortable," barely seconds later she emerged in a pair of shorts, a long Fleetwood Mac shirt from a tour and to top it all off, she wore a thick pair of fuzzy bed socks. The adorableness alongside the magnificent sight of those legs caused the woman to grin. She had her guitar in her hand and crossed the room to put it back in its case. "Hi there"

"Hi," the older blonde responded immediately, before a question burst forth that she had no control over, "Would you play your guitar for me?" Cordelia almost pleaded with a warm smile as she glanced to the Cajun, even batting her eyelashes, making the curly blonde laugh in response. Though Misty's smile dissipated after a moment, shaking her head slowly from side to side.

 _Misty sat cross-legged on her bed with a sharpened pencil tucked just behind her ear whilst a look of dire concentration printed on her serious features. Her guitar moulded slightly against her body as she silently counted in a hushed whisper each bar she played before pausing abruptly to correct a chord that she had noted down on scattered papers on her bed. She had turned that year and her father had finally gave in to her pleads and bought her the only thing she had ever really wanted._

 _A guitar. Her father had wrapped a red ribbon around the instrument, attaching a little note to the thread._ _ **'There's always a bit of magic in something if you believe in it hard enough'**_ _. Her immaculate blue eyes had widened and she hugged him so tight before taking the guitar and rushing straight up to her room to learn how to play. Over the months she had taught herself to play several songs from Fleetwood Mac and memorized each chord and riff. The Cajun had been learning other music too, and had finally figured the last bar to her latest song and tore down the hallway like a tornado._

 _"_ _Mama, Daddy?" The teenager burst into the living room with a bright smile as she clutched the guitar close. "I've done another one, ya want ta hear it?" she chirped excitedly, sitting herself on a stool as her parents merely observed her before casting wary glances to each other. "What is it?" the wild blonde asked picking up on the edgy vibes that passed between the two. "What's wrong?"_

 _Her father shook his head, clearly not wanting to partake in the coming conversation, as if he and his wife had already discussed the topic and had come to an agreement that he wasn't happy with. A short huff fell past his lips as he shuffled out into the hall and out of the back door most likely to tend to the garden. He looked older than he actually was, his mousy brown hair was a little out of control most the time and hidden beneath a hat. His blue eyes weren't as bright as his daughters, as if he had suffered a lot over the years and his eyes became dull. Misty had her mother's hair, though the woman always had it pulled back way too tight for comfort._

 _"_ _Mama?" Misty inquired softly, her brows knitting together in concern._

 _"_ _Your father and I… We're concerned about your classes," Her mother began, she always began with those words 'Your father and I' especially when it was mainly her focused opinion. She had an ordinary accent too, so her words seemed sharper, Misty got her Cajun accent from her father after all._

 _"_ _What 'bout 'em?" The curly blonde asked, genuinely curious as she clutched onto her instrument, she was not liking where this was going. Her classes were difficult, well it was more so the whole school than her topics. She had never fit in and had never dared mention to her parents about the bullies that mocked her accent or her style._

 _"_ _What about them? Misty, you're doing terrible. Your Chemistry and Physics is swell, but you refused your Biology practical's, you just got your grade in Maths and everything else is below expected," Her mother finally looked up with a sigh. "I… 'We' believe that you're wasting all your talent meddling around with that guitar,"_

 _Misty was hurt. She adored her guitar, her mother had neglected to mention how she aced her music exam. "W-wasting my talent? Ma, I'm jus' good at guitar, I can't transfer it ta… ta Geography!" the girl exclaimed with tears in her eyes. "I'll try harder I promise," The Cajun daughter whispered, fiddling with the strap of her guitar._

 _"_ _I will not permit failure, under this roof, Misty Day, you will study harder for school, do you hear me?" the curly blonde nodded swiftly, keeping her gaze glued to the floor with forlorn intensity. Her eyes burned and she sniffled, forcing her tears to push back, she wasn't going to cry in front of her mother. "If you're going to study, you're not going to need the distraction of 'this'!"_

 _Before the teenager knew what was happening, her mother had her guitar in her hands, the strap pulled over Misty's head, letting her wild curls fall in front of her face. Her sapphire eyes widened even further a frantic look replacing the usual calm sweet hints to her features._

 _"_ _What're ya doin'? Tha's my guitar!" the girl protested, jumping to her feet as if she had just received an electric shock. "Please, Ma, it's the only thing I'm good at," the plead fell weakly from her lips as she begged, at the pure mercy of her mother._

 _"_ _I'm trying to do what's best for you Misty, you're just a child, you won't understand yet, but I'm doing this for you." For a moment, the two argued, words overlapping so neither could fully understand the other. "Enough! You're wasting your time, Misty, you're not even as talented as you pretend you are. The guitar shouldn't be solo even if you were to play it!" The woman barked in a final attempt to cease her daughters attitude._

 _Misty was talented, and her parents knew it, but it was by the choice of her mother to set out her future and in her green eyes, playing the guitar wasn't in it. Good results built a stable life and a career, not hours wasting away over a stringed instrument._

 _"_ _I-I'm not talented?" Misty finally asked, brushing the tears from her porcelain cheeks. Her mother let her eyes fall shut before shaking her head, hoping her daughter would understand in years to come. "Ya let me believe that I was? After all this time, ya didn' give a crap about my music?"_

 _"_ _Language!" her mother scorned but Misty didn't hear her or wasn't interested in her mother's laws about swearing._

 _"_ _I don' care! That was the only thing I wanted my whole life, ya can' just do that, an' say that, I can learn, I want ta learn. Give me it back! I'm beggin' ya, I'll even pay for lessons m'self" The Cajuns voice rose, trying fiercely to keep the tears at bay. Her mother had turned a shade of red, looking as if she was about to burst._

 _"_ _That is enough Misty!" The whole house almost rattled with the sound of her voice… Was it her shouts or the crash that followed it? But an ear-splitting crack had forced a silence between them and suddenly Misty forgot what it was to speak as she fell to her knees at the sight of her mother holding two parts of her separated, thoroughly broken guitar. Her tears streamed silently down her cheeks which she brushed away with her futile sleeve._

 _"_ _Now, you have a History exam coming up, why don't you go study for it?" Her mother had barely finished speaking in her cold drawl, when the Cajun girl was sprinting up the stairs and slamming her door shut, loud enough to at least make her parents feel bad._

 _But Misty felt worse. She had lost all hope in what she believed in. She wasn't good at anything. She couldn't play the guitar. And she never played again until she and Luke put together a band, but even then, the insecure girl never played solo._

"I told ya before Dee, I don't… can't play solo. I don' wanna hurt ya feelings or anythin', I jus' promise ya that I'm really not good," The younger woman finally replied with a gentle smile before hanging up her coat and kicking off her shoes and trekking over to Cordelia, before embracing her into a warm hug "We ready?"

* * *

Cordelia had given the wild blonde free choice over the movies, and so it came to little surprise that the two were all of a sudden watching Harry Potter, smiles on their faces at one of the older womans secretly favourite films. There was something about watching movies in the dark that was undoubtedly better than watching it in the light. Perhaps it was the fact that Misty Day could steal glances towards the sweet, shorter woman without her noticing?

Misty felt her heart swell dramatically, it flung against her ribs like a caged bird so desperately wanting to be free. The pounding almost hurt as her chest ached, and the Cajun spared a quick glance to the older woman, who she was positive could hear the rebellion that was taking place in her body. But just the sight of Cordelia increased the throbbing that yanked at her heartstrings. Those dark, captivating eyes intently studying the television screen called out to her soul; the slightest of smiles playing in the corner of her marble smooth lips made her stomach set free ten thousand butterflies, and for a moment, it was all Misty Day was capable of, admiring the beauty that was Ms Goode.

The shorter woman didn't seem to notice the adoring gaze that the wild blond was fixing her with as she snuggled closer into the younger blonde, and from there, Misty could smell the sweet aroma of Cordelia's perfume, rather like lavender and cinnamon, and instantly she was addicted.

The girl let her eyes close loosely, just so she could focus on the scent that marinated her neighbour, it was heavenly, there were little words to describe how it made the curly blonde feel. Yet she concentrated on the feeling of having the older woman so close. The heat radiating off Cordelia soothed the gypsy, and the constant rush of warm breath that caressed her bare arm sent tingles down her spine. Misty found a silent comfort in the feeling, she would do anything to know that the woman she liked was breathing.

Cordelia shifted softly, resting her head fully against the girls shoulder. Her long, golden hair was softer to the touch than she could possibly imagine, running sleekly like an Irish stream in shallow waters, softer than silk and more delicate than a candle wick.

She was so close, so very close, Misty could have simply craned her neck and kissed her. She wanted to kiss her. For a moment she wondered what it would be like to kiss the woman she had been constantly thinking about.

There was no denying the fact that Misty Day had been developing... Feelings.


	8. Chords of My Heart

Fiona Goode.

Fiona was a right piece of work, clawing her ambitious way to personal success, forcing others to succumb to her charm or threats, whichever worked best. Emotion was a foreign glance unknown to the woman, whether that be the dead tugging on her practically non-existing heart strings; or the blank expression that glazed her eyes, anybody could have guessed that Fiona couldn't feel… And they'd be wrong. The aging woman knew how to feel… disappointment and disgust entwined together.

Fiona was disgusted. She didn't even waste her energy to sneer mockingly at the block of flats that lined the shaded street, whilst she glared at the buildings behind obscure black sunglasses. Perhaps she had been a fool to hope, to even think that her daughter would have done something with her life, actually tried to be impressive for once? Though the woman was no stranger to the disappointment that seemed to linger around Cordelia, as if the girl was giving off waves of thick, resolving disappointment. It only made sense, Fiona believed, the girl caused nothing but misery in her opinion.

A cigarette was tucked in between her black, leather-gloved fingers, the smoke dancing lazily from the end in thin, pearly wisps before drawing the tab back to her lips almost contemplating if this was worth her time. The sweet nicotine filled her lungs, providing a comfortable buzz that almost settled her anguishing nerves.

For many years, she and Cordelia hadn't even tried to keep in contact with each other; her daughter had given up trying to please her mother, and she herself just didn't want to waste a minute of her time sending some half-assed message proclaiming love that she wasn't even sure she had. Though she had gotten off her flight this morning, returning from Italy, and she had four days to spend in New Orleans before she had another trip booked to Spain, what better way to spend the time than haunting her only child?

It had been the most unwelcomed shock, driving to her old home where she had raised the ungrateful brat, and finding it was for sale, naturally, the woman had assumed her dear daughter had died, rather than the fact she had sold it, (she most likely preferred the first option). So, several calls later, as an angry cloud was forming over her head, Fiona received the current location and residence of little Miss Cordelia Goode.

* * *

Cordelia had sat through the first two Harry Potter movies curled up into the Cajun's side, moving only to grab the bowl of popcorn that she had set on the small coffee table in front of them. At times she had sensed the younger woman so close to her, or felt Misty's heartbeat accelerate, though she had passed that off as reaction to the film. But her darling wild blonde had left an hour ago, insisting she didn't need her neighbour to feed her constantly, and spent some time in her own apartment.

The soothed woman sat on her comfortable couch where Misty had been seated through the two movies, clutching the cushion close to her stomach before realising that she had picked that habit up from the Cajun, she herself not one to rearrange the pillows on her furniture. The idea made her grin wildly at her ceiling.

She had done just what Myrtle had told her to. She had made her move, and now she was anxiously waiting for Misty to continue their rendition of chess… but from her own apartment, Cordelia couldn't see how this was working out.

A sharp knock rapped against the wood of her door, causing the woman to jump softly in response to the unexpected sound and Cordelia was immediately on her feet. The only people to pay her a visit, were either Misty or Zoe, and right then, she didn't mind which… but when Misty knocks on her door, her hits are often light and soft, and she would yell a sweet 'Miss Cordelia!' just so the blonde could hear her. As for Zoe, her best friend was rather impatient when thudding on her door, waiting half a second between persistent knocks until she answered. So either one of them was feeling a little off… or someone completely different was at her door.

But nothing, nothing, could have prepared her for the sight of her mother standing out in the hall. Cordelia couldn't form words in her mouth, her throat running dry as she tried to construct a legible sentence.

"Do quit gawking at me Delia, you can use your talent for making people uncomfortable at a later time. Are you going to let me in or shall we congregate in the hall like a pair of junkies?" The older woman snapped with a look of lingering boredom and distaste.

Even after the words had sunken in, Cordelia found it hard to dislodge her footing from the floor, and proceeded merely to shuffle centimetre at a time to let her mother into her tidy apartment.

"What are you doing here, Fiona?" The girl had taken to calling her mother by her name shortly after she had turned eight so the formalities came as no surprise to either of them.

"Straight to the damn point as usual I see," Fiona reprimanded, showing herself into the kitchen. "I have to give it to you Delia, you had guts to sell my house,"

" _My_ house, mother, and you know damn well, why I had to leave," Cordelia answered sternly, following the woman who was now pouring herself a glass of wine, letting loose a throaty chuckle, her head canting backwards slightly.

"Oh yes, that's right, your little husband problem… I told you he was a two-faced fuck with his head and your heart up his arse," Fiona didn't even seem remotely concerned by the facts, tingling with an aura of _'I-told-you-so'_. "God, you were so pathetic to even believe the bullshit that he spewed from his lips, and you…" she scoffed as if she still couldn't believe what a fool her daughter was, "You lapped it up like goddamn candy," the woman mocked, setting down her glass to light a cigarette.

Cordelia tried to not to let the comments sting, she had grown up with them for years, and had practically put in place an emotional barrier to protect herself from her mother's sneering comments. "You can't smoke in here," she stated quietly, but Fiona just ignored the young woman, proceeding to let a cloud of pearly white smoke to stream from her thin lips. "So… why _are_ you here?"

"Jesus, do you think I need a reason to visit my own goddamn daughter?" Cordelia arched a brow pointedly leaning against the counter as if she didn't believe a single word in that statement and causing her mother to sigh in irritation. "Are you going to tell me how the years have treated you or am I just going to stand here and drink and smoke? Because I could be doing that in Hawaii and not just your grubby old kitchen,"

"And you're actually interested in how I've been doing? Or are you wanting me to spill every mistake I've made recently to give you something to gloat about?" Cordelia snapped and the older woman let loose another humourless chuckle.

"Please, Delia, if I wanted to gloat to you and tell you everything you've done wrong I could fill a library with the first few years of your life alone, nevermind recently," she raised the wine glass to her lips again, not even acknowledging the scowl printed on her daughters' features.

"If I knew you were coming I'd have made sure to poison that," She mumbled softly, pointing to the wine bottle that sat on the counter top.

"Trust me, if twenty-five years ago, I knew you were coming, I'd have done the same thing," Fiona disregarded, focusing intently on the butt of her cigarette that was still billowing smoke, slowly replacing the pine and jasmine smell in the kitchen with burning tobacco.

It had become increasingly harder to block out the abusive comments. Fiona knew how to push her buttons, she always had.

Cordelia couldn't trust herself to speak, trying to calm the storm of self-disrespect and rage as her mother's words began seeping into her mind and her heart the way she had constantly let them do.

"I'd have saved the world a lot of trouble and embarrassment too, if I had," the woman continued, sensing her daughter's weakness surrounding her. "Let's be honest Delia, you've always been practically useless," she spoke spitefully, and before either of them knew what was occurring, Cordelia had knocked the glass out of the older womans hand, sending it shattering to the floor and red wine spilling all across the white tiles like blood on snow.

"You're a goddamn bitch, no wonder you came crawling back, looking for someone to torture," the young blonde whispered, almost as if she had already started breaking apart at the seams. Suddenly she could see herself as the child that Fiona always made her feel like; the struggling teenager that was lost in the world, who had no-one… no-one to help her through the dark and troubled times.

Cordelia felt so weak. So useless and pathetic, just like her mother had told her she was.

Fiona quickly recovered from the shock of the glass smashing loudly on the floor, and lazily dragged on her cigarette as she watched her daughter in false amusement who had grabbed a cloth to mop up the staining liquid. "Torture? Goddammit girl, you're so pathetic that to you a dying daisy would be torture. I couldn't toast a piece of bread with the heat I'm putting on you!" her voice rose and Cordelia glanced back from where she was clearing up the shattered glass and emptying it into the bin.

Her pain-filled chocolate eyes were glazed over in a shiny coat of tears that were threatening to spill. "You know what's pathetic mother? Pathetic is a child that's too goddamn scared to go home after school because she knows her mother's been drinking. Pathetic is the fact that a teenager had to learn how to live because nobody was there to look after her... It's pathetic, that I went my whole life, wanting a mother that I could never have, I needed you! And my whole life… you brushed me off, pretended that I didn't exist and you hurt me when you finally realised that I was the only person in your life that would stay with you!"

Her voice was raw with emotion, every wall she had put up to defend herself was broken.

"I was the only one who would stay with you and you knew it! Not your friends, not your flings, not my father!" Cordelia pursued, but only seconds later, her vision blurred and white pain flooded through her skin. The crack that resonated in the kitchen was deafening, a painful cry tearing from her lips and the young woman found herself on the floor, clutching her cheek that was already enflaming red from where her mother had slapped her.

The tears finally started to spill, pouring down her face whilst her mother loomed over her, furious.

"How dare you? You were the only one in my life for some goddamn reason I didn't get rid of you! But you stupid girl! I realise that I should have, not that I'd have done anyone any good giving you away!" Fiona roared, advancing on the cowering girl who merely whimpered, catching her tears. "Nobody would want you, nobody will ever want you!" The older woman shouted, raising her hand to hit her daughter again.

Cordelia flinched, preparing herself for the upcoming pain, closing her eyes as she whimpered. But the expected pain never came.

"I do," an all too familiar voice cut through her fears, and in hopeful disbelief, Cordelia spent a few seconds gathering the courage to open her eyes again. She had almost forgotten how lush that voice sounded, how light and happy it made her feel inside. The woman gasped at the image before her.

Misty was holding onto her mother's elevated wrist, preventing her from laying another hand on her. The Cajun's blue eyes were wide and full of concern and anger, even a layer of tears coating her pained gaze.

"Am I supposed to know you, Gypsy?" Fiona yanked back her wrist before the wild blonde stood in front of Cordelia, knowing that the older woman couldn't get to her, whilst she was in the way. The Cajun was undeterred by the wording, she had been called a lot worse, and good God she was going to protect her friend at all costs.

"Name's Misty Day… I live next door ta ya daughter, She's my friend, my best friend. Cordelia don' deserve this, she deserves ta be the centre of ya attention and affection, An' I swear ta God, if ya hurt her again I'll make sure ya nose never sits centre again," the wild blonde defended with a glare, and it took the younger Goode by such endearing surprise how Misty was protecting her.

She reached forward softly to take the Cajun's hand.

"My daughter doesn't have friends, you'll see how mindlessly miserable she is soon enough," Fiona tossed out the insult and Misty instinctively swept her thumb against the back of Cordelia's hand just to keep her calm.

"She's the nicest person I ever met, an' I know she don't get that from you. Now get out," The Cajun demanded with another glare, staring at the older woman until Fiona blew a stream of smoke at the girl and left the kitchen, slamming the apartment door on her way out.

"Dee? Cordelia? I'm here darlin', I'm here, I ain't gonna let her hurt ya, okay?" Misty soothed, slipping down to the floor beside the other woman and shuffled close, pulling her into an embrace. Cordelia still seemed shocked, as if unable to believe that everything had really just happened. "Don' ya listen to a damn word she said, ya absolutely perfect, I know ya are,"

Cordelia buried her face into the girls neck, before every one of Fiona's aimed insults began to sink in and a soft sob tore from her throat.

Once that first tear broke free, the rest followed in an unbroken stream down the woman's porcelain cheeks, whilst her whole body shook tremendously with the force of a gale wind. It was beyond painful for the Cajun to see Cordelia like that, so fragile, so broken, and all she could do was embrace the older woman, letting the torrent of her tears to soak through her shirt. She could feel Cordelia's fist clench around the fabric of Misty's top, almost desperate for something to hold onto that tightly without hurting anyone. The wild blonde could hear her silently screaming, suffocating with each breath she took that was lathered with thick coated sobs.

There had to be something the girl could do for her… something the woman would love, something she had never done before.

Misty made a split decision, one she was sure she was going to regret. She untangled herself from the sobbing woman until they fully broke apart, and Cordelia stared up at her with sorrow and confusion. She needed the Cajun now, now more than ever, and it broke Misty's heart, to see the tears polishing her chocolate gaze. The wild blonde stopped when she heard her own name descending weakly from the others trembling lips, and she took her neighbours hands, leading her into the bedroom and letting her sit back against the pillows

"I'll be right back, Miss Cordelia," she promised, before quickly exiting the womans apartment, leaving Miss Goode alone with her cries echoing in her room. She didn't even properly understand Misty's return until the girl sat cross-legged in front of her with her guitar situated in her lap.

For a split second, the wild blonde's breath became as laboured as Cordelia's her hand shaking almost as much, for in her mind, all she could hear was her mother proclaiming her to be talentless. Finally, she met those wide-hazelnut brown eyes that she had fell in love with.

Yes, she had fallen in love… Her sobs had quietened drastically as she observed the girl in front of her, who took a nervous breath and glanced down at the instrument in her hands.

Misty couldn't bring herself to look at the woman as she nervously played the first few bars of Sara, before stopping abruptly. If she was going to distract Cordelia from her troubles… she was going to do this right, not with Stevie. After a heavy inhale, Misty adjusted her hands, and began playing a different song. The one she had just figured out before her first guitar had been broken in front of her eyes.

After playing the soft introduction, she dared glance up to Cordelia's eyes, that were widened with emotion, captivated almost by what was going on. Finally, the Cajun dared to part her lips to sing along with her favourite song by Elvis Presley.

"Wise men say only fools rush in, But I can't help…" She paused, faltering for a moment, she let her eyes fall shut for a moment before gathering the courage to continue, "I can't help, falling in love with you," She meant it, every word she sang, she sang for Cordelia, conveying the meaningful truth behind the lyrics, "Oh, shall I stay, would it be a sin, if I can't help falling in love with you?" When she sang that time, she met Cordelia's gaze, who's lovely eyes were reflecting the beautiful emotion that Misty was radiating. She was absolutely silent now, watching the girl with pure adoration.

"Like a river flows, surely to the sea, Darlin' so it goes, some things are meant to be…" Misty believed those words with her whole heart, she and Cordelia, they had to be, didn't they? If only Cordelia felt for her the same way. "Take my hand, take my whole life too, for I can't help falling in love with you," There was raw passion behind those words, and she looked straight at Cordelia so she knew that she meant them. She repeated that verse again, now staring nervously at her guitar, until the song came to a near close, "For I can't help… falling in love with you,"

When the final chord had been stuck, neither woman could move or speak, not until a soft sniffle left the wild blonde, alarming both of them. Misty felt awful, if anyone had the right to be crying it was Cordelia, not her.

"Misty, baby… what is it? What's wrong? That song, it was so beautiful, the words, they seemed so true," at that the Cajun let loose another soft cry and Cordelia was taking her in her arms, disregarding the guitar and hushing her sweetly, "Darling, what's this about?" the older woman asked, cupping the younger girls chin with her spare hand.

"I… I'm so sorry," at the apology, the shorter blonde felt hear heart break, Misty was so sweet, so innocent and beguiling, what in the world did she have to be sorry for?

"Mist, please talk to me… talk to me sweetheart, you have nothing to be sorry for," Cordelia whispered wiping the few glistening, silver tears from the girl's soft cheeks.

"I ain't done… anythin' on my own in years, an' I had ta pick such a personal song, but… I couldn' stand ta see ya so hurt an' upset, it hurt me too Delia, because someone like ya… ya deserve ta be happy, ya deserve all the good things in the world, an' all this time, I let myself get carried away but, I, I meant it all," Cordelia's head was starting to spin, the ending of the girls statement was making no sense to her.

"Slow down, lovely, carried away? Meant what… Misty?" The Cajun let loose a small whimper as she choked back a sob, still cradled in the older womans arms.

"I can' believe I'm sayin' this… but, Delia, that song was meant for ya, I meant every word, and I really can' help… I can't help but fall in love with ya. Please don' make me go yet!" Misty rushed quickly when Cordelia opened her mouth to speak, thinking the older woman was going to push her away. "I fell in love with ya, an; I didn't mean to, I'm sorry! But I fell in love with the way ya bite your bottom lip when ya giggle, or get nervous, I fell in love with tha way ya eyes light up at times, an' I fell in love with ya soul, ya got the kindest most sweetest soul in the whole World Dee, an… I never had the courage ta say jus' how beautiful I think ya are. I love ya…" The Cajun finished, glancing down to her lap, not wanting to look to the face of the woman she loved, just in case all she saw was refusal and disgust.

Cordelia was on the cusp of crying again, brushing back the tears with the palm of her hand before they could fall. The idea that Misty was expecting rejection made her heart hurt, and in response she just held her tighter, running her fingers through those wild curls she had grown to love.

For a while, the older woman let it all sink in, this… this couldn't be real? Cordelia wasn't used to receiving love from anyone, and she certainly was so lucky as to have someone return the feelings she herself felt. Was this all a trick?

But Misty wouldn't do that, she was the most innocent girl, so alive and so perfect…

"Are you… are you sure?" Cordelia asked almost stupidly, wishing she could take those words back and say something a bit more logical, but the laugh she earned from the Cajun made her forget about the silly comment.

"Am I sure? Hell, I'm damn sure, Cordelia. I know how I feel about ya, I ain't ever been so certain. I love ya, I know I love ya… I'm a hundred and one percent sure I love ya," Misty confirmed with a wide grin, before a moment past and the girl exhaled. "But… how…. How d'ya feel, y'know, about me?" the Cajun looked up almost afraid that the woman wouldn't reciprocate her feelings.

Cordelia didn't spare a second before she brushed her fingers lightly over both of Misty's cheeks, bringing her closer and guiding the Cajuns warm, intriguing lips onto her own.

Something inside of the older woman bust as she felt the wild blonde return the kiss, locking their lips as she pulled the girl closer to her, pouring her passion into that single kiss inch by inch. Misty could feel her stomach erupting with butterflies; Cordelia's pale rendered lips were delicate and unyielding pressed against her own, smooth as marble but warm and inviting. The touch alone wakening something inside her that the girl had never fully known before.

Cordelia eventually gasped for breath and the wild blonde took the moment to refill her lungs, before determinedly kissing her again and again, all to which the older woman reciprocated quickly and passionately.

When they finally broke apart, flushed and breathless, Cordelia pulled the Cajun close, wrapping her arms around her waist as Misty's arms hung loosely around the womans neck. "Does that answer your question, baby?" Bright blue eyes stared widely at her, so full of adoration and affection, making the older woman smile happily.

"Say it, Dee," Misty pleaded almost excitedly, nestling closer to her.

"I love you too, Misty Day"


	9. Like the Goddamn FBI

"Misty. Misty. Misty. Babe. Misty. Misty… Miiiiiiist. Baby. Misty… Goddammit you sleep like a tonne of bricks!" Cordelia giggled as she pressed butterfly kisses to the Cajun's peaceful face, urging the girl to wake up after her persistent nagging had no effect on her whatsoever

The younger womans nose wriggled cutely when the shorter blonde pushed her lips softly against the tip, scrunching up her face as she blindly and softly battered her away.

Cordelia had a habit of waking up before her curly haired neighbour, and that morning, it took some delirious time to remember why Misty was sharing her bed with her strong, tanned arms wrapped tightly and protectively around her. Her warm lips had turned upwards into a bright smile at the reminisce of yesterday's events, when the young girl stood up to her mother, a feat achieved by nobody else alive; She had played her guitar, a beautiful song that Misty had sworn was for her; and she had kissed her… They had kissed like it was the last night of the World.

Even when they were falling asleep secured in each other's arms, lazy, small kisses were passed between them, on their lips, cheeks, hair, nose and hands, Misty couldn't get enough of Cordelia, and she felt the same way. She couldn't remember who had managed to confer the last kiss… who had fallen asleep first, they were both rather exhausted and still kept up their challenge, to kiss the other… Cordelia was rather determined that she had won, the image of Misty's body laying stationary, pressed close to hers bringing itself to the front of her mind.

The older woman had woken that morning and a whole twenty minutes gracefully sauntered by as she watched the Cajun sleeping, admiring the angelic face that was inches from her own. She would have let Misty continue sleeping but the both of them were cuddled so tightly together; Cordelia was hungry, and she didn't think Misty would appreciate missing breakfast even if she had managed to successfully break free from the girls loving embrace.

"Ya the worst alarm clock in the world Dee, ya know that?" Misty Day finally groaned, rolling further into the woman's body. One sparkling blue eye opened reluctantly before the other and she blinked a moment as if assessing the situation as to why she was so freely cuddling into her next-door neighbour. The Cajun caught and held Cordelia's gaze before meekly inquiring, "Can… Can I kiss ya?"

A sweet laugh easily descended from the shorter blonde's lips before nodding softly, she understood how the wild haired girl felt, the unfathomable reality that… that she finally found someone she truly loved, and who adored her in return… it was too good to be true. Misty's lips sought out hers and after a moment of lingering joy, they broke apart with satisfaction.

"Stop lookin' so smug, Miss Cordelia, ya still the wors' bloody alarm clock I ever had." The Cajun teased reaching out to brush the pad of her thumb softly against the womans bottom lip that was sticking out ever so slightly in a solemn pout. "Don' be givin' me those eyes!" Misty declared, pressing another kiss to her cheek delicately.

"Then get up!" Cordelia answered playfully, kicking the covers off and attempted to sit up, but the curly-blonde's arms tightened around her stomach bringing her back down, clinging to her tightly. "Misty!" The older woman protested, despite the round of genuine laughter spilling from her lips as she found herself snuggling with the Cajun again. "Come on Baby, we have to get up,"

"It's Monday!" the other defended with mock-grumpiness, burying her face into Cordelia's neck, before almost drowning in the beautiful scent of the woman and the light musk of her fading perfume.

"So?" the shorter blonde expressed, again trying and failing to escape but still, Misty refused to let her leave, rather addicted to the body heat and the presence of the other woman.

"Mondays are Misty-doesn't-exist days" the Cajun reluctantly explained, her ethereal digits trailing across the woman's stomach sending a shiver through Ms Goode.

"Well Mondays are Cordelia-makes-pancakes-for-breakfast Days…" she chided softly, giggling and glancing down to the girl whose eyes shot open immediately.

"I'm up!"

* * *

"Cordelia Goode, I demand ta know where the bloody hell we're goin'!" The Cajun huffed as the woman practically dragged her through the town, weaving through the streets like a needle through material. That morning the older woman had insisted that she was taking Misty out someplace, and apart from that, the curly blonde was offered no further details other than to dress warm.

It was funny at first, but curiosity and slight impatience soon took its toll and the girl whined every other minute that she wanted, no, _needed_ to know. Cordelia had resorted to ignoring the taller blonde for the meantime, holding her hand as she led the way. She couldn't deny them contact.

"Cordelia!" Misty pleaded again to the other with the cute accented drawl that just seemed to directly hit the woman in the feelings.

"Patience sweetheart, you'll see soon enough, for the moment just take in the fairy-tale that's New Orleans," Cordelia answered grinning towards the girl with genuine happiness painting those pretty lips, and seeing her so content soothed the curly blonde's soul, she loved seeing the woman this way.

" _Whoop_ , bring it on Happily-Ever-After!" Misty exclaimed with bubbling child-like excitement, almost punching the air with her fist as she held onto the other woman's hand tighter.

They walked together for some time, the two of them exchanging ridiculous one-liners and equally horrific puns, causing the other to laugh and push aside the hysterics that left them breathless. Misty stopped abruptly once they turned a corner (half way into a seriously bad knock-knock joke), staring up at the building that loomed over them and she let out a loud squeal and tightly hugged the older woman.

"An _Ice_ Rink! Cordelia! This is amazin'!" The Cajun exclaimed, chastely pressing her lips to the woman's cheek and pulling away. "I didn' even know New Orleans had one a these!" The older blonde could only laugh sweetly at the excitement coursing through the girl, potent energetic vibes radiating from her ethereal frame.

"How about we stop admiring the architecture and actually go inside?" Cordelia chided teasingly, earning a playful shove from the wild blonde. Laughter escaped the two of them, as hand in hand, they entered.

* * *

Cordelia let a smooth sigh fall past her lips, sitting down on a bench opposite Misty and frowning at the pair of skates in her hands. She hadn't given this plan a thorough run through, only knowing that the Cajun loved ice skating. She pulled on one skate proceeding just to sit there, staring at the intricate laces, unsure of how exactly to tie them.

She had been skating only one before at the age of eleven, with Myrtle, and considering that she had spent most of the time making her way around the rink on her backside, she had never gone again.

But Cordelia knew it was more complicated than just tying shoes (those she could do, she wasn't stupid), and for a moment she simply watched as Misty pulled her own laces tightly, finishing the knot with a little bow. She shot her a pitiful glance, noting how the girl looked so at ease in the constricting footwear and the older woman frowned gently at the way the Cajun was able to walk as gracefully on the carpeted floor as if she were Jesus walking on water. It was a miracle.

Cordelia blushed as the girl stooped low before getting to her knees right in front of the older blonde. The scene could entirely be deemed inappropriate depending on the angle of view, but she pushed the thought away as far as she could as Misty tied up her laces quickly and smoothly, hands practically flying. "Ya know, if ya needed help, ya coulda jus' asked me... starin' at 'em wasn't going ta make 'em tie themselves," the curly haired woman smirked softly.

The skates felt unnaturally tight, almost as if the Cajun was trying to suffocate or strangle her feet, and Cordelia found herself terrified to stand up, positive she was going to lose her balance and she wasn't even on the ice yet. "You go ahead baby, I'll catch you up," she promised, smiling up to the girl.

"Ya sure? I don' wanna leave ya sittin' here alone, what if someone starts flirting with a beautiful lady like yaself?" Misty added with concern and teasing slightly.

"Then I'll tell them I'm taken by a radiant woman. Honestly, sweetheart, go ahead," Cordelia smiled brightly as the Cajun quickly embraced her and made her way onto the rink.

Misty was a princess on the ice, so graceful with her golden curls flowing behind her. A bright smile painted her sweet pink lips and an overwhelming gleam of adoration coating that spectacular crystal blue gaze. She didn't even seem to push effort into her fluid movement, with her back straight and skates polishing the ice finely.

She was perfect. Cordelia staggered her way to the outside of the rink, leaning on the banister intently watching her neighbour, friend, girlfriend... Misty, her Misty. Dark eyes focused on the distinctive joy that graced the Cajuns features, the older woman tucked her bottom lip between her teeth as she studied the beautiful girl who caught her gaze and the wild blondes smile widened into a beam, changing course and smoothly skating towards the other.

"This is the best surprise in the whole world! Ya gonna join me, Miss Goode?" Misty teased softly, kicking the excess slush of ice off her blade, tapping her boot against the wall before sweeping her curls out of her face to grin brightly at Cordelia.

"Hmm, no," the shorter blonde played, letting the Cajun take her hands and lead her to the border of the ice. "I haven't skated since I was eleven Misty... And even then, I didn't do much skating as opposed to falling." Cordelia affirmed with a meek grimace, giggling gently with the younger woman.

"If ya can't skate that well Dee, why'dya wanna come here of all places?" Misty inquired with honest confusion and a slight frown as she glanced to the older woman.

"Because you looked so happy... The other day in the shop when you spoke about you father buying your first skates... Besides, you look cute on the ice," Cordelia commented sweetly, earning a light blush from the taller girl and a gentle kiss to her hair.

"Ya didn't have ta do all this for me, Miss Cordelia, ya know I'da bin happy staying inside,"

"News Flash for you darling, we're not spending the rest of forever cooped up inside, now… How do I move?" The Cajun giggled and the older blonde couldn't help but laugh along with her.

"Come on Dee, baby steps. One cute lil foot in front a the other," Misty teased, earning a jostling nudge from the shorter blonde, almost resulting in the older woman losing her balance on the thin blades. With soft laughter and coaxing steps, the curly blonde led Goode onto the rink.

Cordelia instinctively stuck her arms out for balance as she began to slide on the icy surface with no force in her footing, and natural forces acting upon her skates. "I'm doing it!" she cried excitedly glancing to the girl who glided beside her with one step forward.

"Ya jus' sliding, Miss Cordelia, ya ain't doing anything!" Misty giggled taking the womans hand in her own, interlocking their fingers lovingly, as she pushed herself to the side pausing in front of her lover. "First-a-all, knees bent,"

"Knees bent," Cordelia Goode echoed determinedly, with a set grin, following the Cajun's orders with a soaring heartbeat.

"Toes facin' out" Misty commanded, showing the 'V' shape her feet made in a point to the woman, leading by example.

"Toes facing out," The older blonde repeated, following suit, mimicking the position and stance before glancing back up to those wide blue eyes she adored.

"head up"

"Head up" Cordelia followed, lifting her head so that she was smiling fully with the sweet girl. The girl that she was in love with… the girl who was in love with her.

"Kiss me," Misty stated, in the same natural tone she had used for her other instructions, a soft smirk painting upon her pink lips as she glanced towards the older woman.

"Kiss- oh" She trailed off once the words she was in the middle of saying had actually sunk in, and a furious blush arose in her cheeks and her bottom lip caught between her rows of pearly white teeth. They came to a stop, thankfully (Cordelia wasn't sure she could physically do anything when in motion on the ice) and reaching up to brush her fingers across the Cajun's cheeks, she leant up and kissed her warm lips.

It was their first kiss in public and it lit a fire within the shorter blonde's stomach, a fire that didn't torch the butterflies that were still habituating there from every one of Misty's touches. She pulled back, taking in the radiant face of her neighbour with a bright smile.

"Mmh, do you still want me to keep my toes out and everything, or was your main goal to kiss me?" her words persuaded a warm laugh to rise from the curly-haired blonde, her whole face lighting up as she nodded.

"Oh no, ya still need ta follow orders, but that doesn' mean my main goal wasn't ta kiss ya," Misty pointed out taking the woman's hand again, prompting her to try again, and Cordelia resumed her previous position.

"Yes Ma'am, knees bent, toes out, head up, now what?"

"Now ya push,"

"I push?"

"Ya push,"

"Push like what?"

"Jus' a normal push!"

"Push like shove push, or push like pregnant push?"

"Cordelia!" the Cajun exclaimed loudly. 'Push' was not an extraordinarily difficult concept to comprehend and rather self-explanatory. She cast a sweet blue gaze to the woman's face and found her genuinely laughing, as if she had just been dying to wind up the young blonde.

"So… push?" The woman guessed with a teasing smile, before testing out her pushing abilities, stepping forward on one skate and starting to move.

"See, easy! Now it's jus' push an' glide, push an' glide, push an' glide," The Cajun demonstrated, skating swiftly a few feet ahead, pausing as a sliding Cordelia slowly slipped towards her. The woman threw out her hand and steadied herself on the wall, heaving a sigh of relief.

"Okay so, after you push…" The shorter blonde encouraged with wide adoring hazelnut eyes.

"Ya glide," Misty finished with a light giggle, spinning to the woman's side. "We'll try it together," taking her hand once again, she led Cordelia a few feet from the wall. She froze, letting the Cajun drag her across the ice, making no sudden movements with her skates or arms in fear of falling. "Dee… Dee ya don' need ta look like a gargoyle, loosen up," the wild blonde laughed, letting go of her hand just to come up behind the woman and rest her hands upon her hips.

"Miss Day, how do you expect me to 'loosen up' if you're gripping my hips like a lifeline?" Cordelia retorted, finally starting to skate slowly in the way that the girl had just shown her.

"I'm makin' sure that A, ya pushin' forward properly, B, ya steady an' have a sense of direction an' C, ya don' fall," Misty clarified with a soft burst of gentle laughter that caused a shiver to run down the woman's spine.

"Well… in that case, I really don't mind if you're gripping my hips like a lifeline," Cordelia giggled, resisting the very tempting urge to place her hands on top of the Cajuns', as she was positive she needed her arms free to 'steer'. But still, she felt protected in Misty's guiding embrace, and could smell the sweet flowery aroma of her perfume, and she loved everything about that very moment.

* * *

"They're cute, don't you think?" Madison announced decisively, wrapping her hands tightly around a Starbucks cup, warming her numbing fingers. Of all the places that they could have gone to, _warm_ places might she add, and they chose the ice rink? "Don't answer that, I know they're cute," The starlet responded taking a sip of her Vanilla Latte before glancing across to Zoe.

"I still can not believe you have a tracking app for your best friends phone!" The brunette declared, still rather shocked. When she had gotten a call from her new ally because of some serious 'Cordelia-Misty Movement' she had no idea that the Hollywood fangirl was actually pursuing the Cajun like the goddamn FBI.

"Yes, I do, don't you?" Madison derided smugly, returning her gaze to the couple of skaters that were progressing into actual strides on the ice, ignoring Zoe's head shake. The two were seated on the elevated side lines so that they had a decent view of the whole rink and the people on it.

"Do you think they're together?" She piped up, opening the packet of skittles she had got from the vending machine, and put a handful into her mouth.

"It's hard to tell…" Madison stated, opening the camera on her phone and snapping a photo of the two women, and then bringing the image up in the gallery. Misty had her hands on both of the other woman's hips, holding her supportively and steady though looking closely, there was next to no room in between their bodies, as if the Cajun's front was pressed flush against Cordelia's back.

Her blue eyes were sparkling with adoration and the smile on her lips lit up her face, though her gaze wasn't directed at the ice ahead of them… that sneaky sapphire stare was focused entirely on the woman in front of her.

Cordelia's dark eyes were watching intently on where they were going, but she looked loose and relaxed in Misty's arms, and… was she leaning _back_ into the girl? Her lower lip was caught between her lips and she seemed so happy, as if she was skating on a rainbow. "They're either dating or they're level 97 of the friendzone." The sleek blonde confirmed, holding out her phone for Zoe's inspection of the photograph.


	10. (More than) Friends on Facebook

Exactly two weeks had come and gone since Cordelia had taken the lovely Cajun ice-skating, and whatever it was that they had between them blossomed in all its entirety, so much that they had been caught hand in hand running from the rain with laughter surrounding them. They had been spotted (By a stalker-mode Madison) curled together on a park bench with ice creams three days later; Misty with a scoop of chocolate and Cordelia with her strawberry. And they had even been discovered making simple lunches together, the older woman cutting the crusts off her sandwiches and the Cajun accurately cutting a bagel in half… Zoe had been the one to bounce in on that.

"Dee! Are ya listening' ta the news?" Misty inquired as she strolled straight into the womans apartment as she had been doing more and more frequently for more and more various reasons.

The Cajun glanced around her girlfriend's apartment, expecting her to be sitting on the couch, or cooking food, but everything was silent apart from the stubborn buzz of the central heating, making itself known. "Cordelia?"

Her girlfriends' apartment was immaculate and tidy, as if it was ever anything less, the counter tops were glistening and shiny and there wasn't even a bookmark out of place. Misty smiled softly to herself at the slight smell of pine polish... God this woman was organised and tidy.

The wild blonde searched the rooms, standing confused in the doorway of her bedroom whilst she stared at Cordelia's made bed... The Cajun knew she wasn't at work, she had memorised the woman's weekly shifts, and her dark eyed lover was supposed to go in that night, not that morning.

Misty Day heaved a hefty breath, sticking her head around the bathroom door.

"Holy Cow, ya in the shower!" the younger blonde exclaimed startled, fumbling over herself to turn around and respect the other woman's privacy, even bringing up her hand to shield her eyes. Misty's cheeks grew incredibly warm.

"I'll be out in a minute" Cordelia giggled, biting gently at her lip. The Cajuns intrusion had startled the dark-eyed beauty, and although her modesty had been shielded by the thickly steamed glass, she blushed mightily after assuring the girl it was all okay.

Misty sat nervously on what was now practically labelled 'her side' of the couch, chewing anxiously on a Haribo as she waited for her girlfriend to finish in the shower. Although they had often crept into one bed or another together on alternate nights, the wild haired girl had never seen the woman naked, nor had Cordelia seen her.

She was overthinking as usual, as she bit into a cola bottle, completely oblivious to the fact that the water had stopped running and that the object of her affections was watching her from the doorway, clad in a fluffy, white towel that wrapped around her frame comfortably.

Cordelia often stole glances of her younger lover when she wasn't looking… well, perhaps a lot more than 'often'. She frequently found her gaze lingering on the gypsy when the girl was watering and talking to the potted plants that lined almost every windowsill in the shorter blonde's apartment. The way she showered the flora with positivity and encouragement, almost affectionate over each bud as blue eyes lit up in wonder with every flower.

Misty looked beyond happy.

And Cordelia knew that one day… _one_ day, she was going to give her pure lover a beautiful garden.

Miss Goode sneaked quietly over to where the girl was lounging on the couch, almost tense. Blonde curls fell in front of her shoulders, hanging by her cheeks, almost curtaining that pretty face. Cordelia threw her arms around the Cajun, delighting in the high-pitched squeal that she coaxed from her lips as she trapped her girlfriend in an inevitable embrace.

"Awe Dee! Ya gettin' me all wet," Misty whined with a pout, craning her head to catch a glimpse of the older woman while she still had a yellow gummy bear caught between two rows of pearly-white teeth. "Nice towel," the girl smirked playfully, entirely earning the nudge that she received in response.

" _Thank you_ , pure cotton, suits me don't you think?" Cordelia teased, coming into view almost modelling the towel that she wore dress-like around her damp body and her long, blonde hair several shades darker from the water.

"Killer," the Cajun laughed brightly, holding out a Haribo heart that the other woman promptly accepted as she sat down beside her.

"So," Cordelia began, stealing another sweet after sidling up to her girlfriend. "Was there something you needed?" she finally finished, glancing up to her wide-eyed wonder.

"I was listenin' ta the Radio… there's gonna be a heatwave tonight," Misty recalled from memory, as if it were a vital piece of information that she dared not forget. The older blonde couldn't help but chuckle softly, smiling up at the girl she loved so dearly. "Hey, quit laughin' at me!" she implored playfully with a betraying grin of amusement.

Cordelia shook her head gently. "You waltzed in on my shower to tell me about the weather? And here I was thinking that you'd missed me." She teased, instantly hushing the girls attempted protests with a warm bubble of laughter.

"Well, weather's important an' I thought ya ought ta know," she excused feebly before rushing to fix the muddled situation. "I missed ya!" Misty smiled in a hope of redeeming their circumstance, tucking a lock of wet blonde hair behind the woman's ear affectionately.

"You just came for the pancakes, didn't you?" Cordelia playfully narrowed her eyes as if she had just figured out Misty's big secret, laughing sweetly as her hand sought out the Cajun's, comfortable only when their palms were joined together.

"Yeah babe, I'm jus' here for the pancakes," she teased with a splitting smile, glancing down to their joined hands and in a swift motion, she was sliding a Haribo ring on to Cordelia's finger and pressing a loving kiss to her forehead.

* * *

Misty was staring at her bedroom ceiling with sincere focus as if she was trying to decipher some hidden message in the several cracks where the paint was peeling slowly away... But the only message the ceiling conveyed to the Cajun was that her apartment was old and needed a new paint job.

The heatwave kicked in around an hour ago and the curly haired blonde was suffering, laying on top of her bed covers in just a pair of navy blue shorts and a grey sports bra, officially giving up on clothing. She had been tempted to run a nice cold shower, but the hike to her bathroom would probably cause a sweat in this scorching, desert-like climate.

It wasn't exactly late, (half past nine to be exact) and Misty was laying on her bed, bored and melting as she finally replied to one of the texts that she had been ignoring from Madison. She pulled up Cordelia's contact, smiling at the picture she had linked. Cordelia was sat in her bed with the covers around her waist and a book held up in front of her, although there was a teasing smirk her lips as she glanced over the top of the pages wearing her reading glasses. She loved that picture. Her wallpaper was her favourite though... The Cajun had been taking a selfie when the older woman came up behind her, wrapped her arms tight around the girls' waist and pressed a kiss to her cheek just as she had snapped the photo.

She loved every picture of her girlfriend.

And that's what have her the new idea.

Cordelia could barely manage to read the words on the papers that were arranged in front of her, finding she hadn't taken in any information and groaned when she was forced to reread the whole page again due to her mind being elsewhere. She was too distracted to work and she was positive that she could actually feel the temperature gradually rising like Misty had said it would, and the heat was causing a layer of thick fatigue to rest upon the woman. So it came as a welcome surprise when her phone beeped with a new notification.

Cordelia had blatantly refused to put it on silent after the missed calls when Misty had needed her, back then the nightclub. Of course she was protective over the girl, but there was no way on earth she would ever make the same mistake twice.

The sweet blonde cast a quick, tentative glance across the room before picking up her phone and unlocking it. _Misty Day sent you a friend request on Facebook._ Cordelia fought a little giggle before accepting, hesitantly placing it down so she could continue trying to read, an attempt that was thwarted, proving her plan a futile one by her phone beeping obnoxiously again.

She hadn't really given a thought to Misty having Facebook... Not that she really needed to, after all, they spent every other minute of the day glued at the hips, and it wasn't as if she was on the app often between work and her time with her little Cajun trouble.

Her phone alerted her once again and Cordelia struggled to keep on top of her sudden swarm of notifications, the thing was beeping again and again and again, so much that she was forced to turn the volume down.

 _Misty Day likes your photo_ over and over again.

* * *

Cordelia wasn't going to lie, she loved Stevie… the woman came around on occasions close to Christmas or whenever she was in the area; and as a girl, Cordelia watched in fascination as the famous family friend would play on their piano, or create a new song with several words that the girl herself got to choose. She adored her songs, all of them, but this one was starting to get right on her nerves.

Cordelia buried her head into a pillow the next morning, in an attempt to muffle the chorus of Landslide filtering through the single wall that parted her and Miss Day, presumably the Cajun's alarm blaring frustratingly and the older woman waited for Misty to turn it off. She kept waiting.

Still Stevie kept on singing and she groaned sitting up in her bed, wishing that she had chosen to slip into the younger girls apartment after work last night so at least she could turn off her alarm. The only reason that Cordelia was in her own bed was due to the fact that she finished work at half eleven, and even though there was a possibility that Misty was awake, there was still the heatwave, and Cordelia doubted that she could survive a night of scorching cuddling.

"Misty turn your alarm off," The older blonde slammed the side of her fist against the wall sleepily as she half moaned her words, but Stevie was still playing. With a sharp huff, Cordelia threw back the single blanket that had kept her cool that night and stormed out of her apartment and straight into Misty's.

They never locked their doors anymore while they were inside the flats, knowing that at some time sooner or later, the other would randomly burst in with a random excuse or question and subtly draw out a conversation so that a short visit turned into a prolonged amount of time together.

"Misty!" Cordelia called, slamming the front door as she pushed her hair behind her shoulders, strolling into the girls' room and stood a moment in disbelief. _How was she not awake?_ It was probable that she had spent most the night stalking her lover and reacting to every selfie that she had found on Facebook.

The Cajun was laid on her back, golden curls splayed lavishly across the pillow with the blanket covering her whole body save for an arm that curled around a cushion. She was peaceful and angelic as always, but a still sleepy Cordelia wasn't putting up with her alarm any longer. Rummaging for the girls' phone, the older woman searched her table, the floor, and under Misty's pillow.

"Jesus, wake up!" the shorter blonde demanded, ripping the covers off of her girlfriend to continue her search for that ringtone.

Misty woke up alright.

A slight yelp escaped her lips as the cool air of her room hit her fully exposed nude body, and Cordelia stood in front of her, holding the blankets and in what appeared to be an entire state of shock.

"M-miss Cordelia…" the Cajun stuttered, now fully awake and crossing her arms in front of her chest whilst pressing her thighs close together. Her blue eyes were wider than ever and glazed over in sweet alarm. Her mouth hung open slightly as if she was on the verge of speaking, but still didn't know what to say.

The chilled contrast after staying under a toasty, warm blanket showered goosebumps across her bare chest where her heart was visibly thudding in heavy, racing beats.

Cordelia was trying hard not to stare, honest she was, but the shock of finding her girlfriend sprawled naked was a welcome one, and although the two were embarrassed out of words, she couldn't help but find the Cajun beautiful. "I'm sorry, baby," the older woman promised, finally averting her gaze as she caught her bottom lip between her teeth.

Misty nervously found her phone, and turned off the alarm, giggling slightly as she took the blanket from her lover. "Hey, it's okay… I guess ya were bound ta see me sooner or later," it was merely a whisper, her cheeks wonderfully pink as she found the woman's gaze again, smirking softly.

"Babe… you look absolutely gorgeous," Cordelia announced candidly, sitting by her side and wrapped her arms around the girl and her duvet. Misty snuggled into her embrace lovingly, finally steadying her wild heartbeat.

"M'sorry for wakin' ya… wanna go back ta sleep with me?" The Cajun offered, receiving an incredulous glance from her girlfriend that made her laugh softly. "I'll put my shorts back on, they're on the floor," Cordelia giggled, handing the girl her shorts, pulling them up her long legs before she immediately pulled the older woman close and under the duvet with her.

Cordelia was in love with the feeling of Misty's bare chest, as she cuddled into the taller girl, her nose buried sweetly in the crook of her neck, and her fingertips tracing out delicate patterns upon the smooth pale skin of her collarbone before dipping slightly lower.

"I love you, Misty," she whispered softly, earning a bright grin from the Cajun.

"I love ya too, Miss Cordelia,"

* * *

When Cordelia woke up again it was twenty minutes to ten, and she was still cuddled tightly into her half-naked girlfriend, or more accurately, Misty was cuddling desperately into her.

There was no route of escape, she was trapped in those strong protective arms she loved, and even one of her long, slender legs was wrapped around her. Cordelia didn't mind, Misty was beautiful, and she was warm, and the older woman was prepared to stay there forever…

Okay that last one was a lie; she ached slightly and her legs were stiff, in definite need of a stretch. Cordelia couldn't help but giggle slightly as she brushed her lips against Misty's nose, watching her twitch slightly and wriggle her nose in response.

The older woman tried to pull slowly away, but Misty had other ideas, tightening her hold and pressing her closer into her body. Cordelia felt her heart skip a beat. She was now chest to chest with the girl and only a thin layer of material parting them from having full skin contact. "Misty," she protested slightly, though a soft chuckle left her lips when the Cajun just held her tighter.

Cordelia struggled slightly, rolling over the girl to escape her clutches, but rather awkwardly, she had just managed to just get on top of her girlfriend. "Come on, let me go," the woman chuckled gently, a sweet genuine laughter that was cut short by a gasp and a loose moan as Misty softly grabbed the older womans hips and slowly grinded against her.

The action was surprising but not unwelcomed, and she momentarily forgot about trying to go anywhere. "Ya don' really want ta leave me, do ya Dee?" The Cajun inquired, finally looking at her whilst yet again gyrating her hips up against the older womans.

Cordelia let her head tilt back lightly, her efforts on moving ceased before she shook her head, dark eyes flickering to the knowing smirk that painted the wild blonde's lips… well two could play at this game, and without warning, Cordelia grinded her hips down into Misty's, smugly grinning when a soft whine left her lips.

"You think I'm going to leave? To let you have the satisfaction of turning me on and not doing anything about it?" Cordelia teased, leaning forward to capture the girls lips in a rough yet needy kiss that the wild blonde immediately reciprocated.

Misty's lithe fingers worked on the buttons of the older womans sleep shirt, slipping the grey silk down her flawless arms and to a puddle on her floor. Goode's sweet moan was easily muffled by the kiss, the kiss that intensified when the matching pants followed, leaving a trail of silk as evidence.

The Cajun broke their kiss to glance up at her girlfriend, blue eyes clouded with lust and adoration as she browsed over every curve, after all… she had to praise such a beautiful body.

"I swear Misty if you don't finish what you started-" the curly-haired blonde quickly cut off the mock threat with another kiss, fiercer than the last, her tongue slipping between the others lips, swallowing a soft moan at the intensity.

"I jus' wanted ta stare at how goddamn beautiful ya are," the girl explained with a genuine smile, not waiting for an answer before attaching her lips to Cordelia's neck, trailing her way to the womans collar bone. She rolled them over, delighting in the surprised squeak that left the shorter woman, who stared up at her with wide eyes as Misty began kissing down her flat, tanned stomach. "C-can I?" the Cajun asked with a soft bite to her lower lip, needing confirmation to finally have Cordelia in a way she had only dreamed of.

"Please, Mist," The shorter blonde nodded, letting her eyes drift close at the pleasant sensations of the open-mouthed kisses that lined her abdomen sweetly. Misty's strong yet gentle hands framed Cordelia's thighs, and the older woman was quick to oblige, spread wider for her lovers attention as a soft whine coaxed from her lips assuring the girl it was all okay.

Misty's tongue darted out again, curling around Cordelia's stiffened clit, briefly sucking hard and then gently letting her tongue circle the nub until loader moans spilled out above her. The Cajun dragged her tongue along the womans wet slit, tasting more of her, teasing her, moving down until Cordelia's arousal gathered on the girls' lips.

The older woman forgot how to breath for a moment, all hitched at the back of her throat as her fists curled in the bed sheets. The last time anyone had had her this way… no, she didn't want to think of that, not then, not ever. But she was easily distracted as another moan soothed her throat at the skilful ministrations of the younger blonde whose tongue was gliding against her drenched, heated walls.

"O-oh Misty," the woman managed to let out, her long digits finding grip in the Cajuns honeycomb curls.

Misty couldn't help but smile at the way her name sounded from her lover's lust-drenched lips, her tongue returning to sucking with alternate force on Cordelia's clit, causing her back to arch from the bed. The girl's fingers teased at her entrance softly before, just the tips massaging at her wetness and causing a guttural moan to ascend from her lover. "Misty, please!" she begged, breathless pants of wanton desire falling from her lips.

With no need for further encouragement, Misty slid two fingers into her girlfriend, glancing up at the sudden gasp, making sure she didn't hurt her. The Cajun began softly thrusting her long fingers inside of her, making the older woman shiver in delighted pleasure and buck her hips slightly to meet the pace of her hand.

Misty's tongue danced circles around the woman's throbbing clit, rubbing hard, fierce, tight circles and she's rewarded with louder moans as she slid both digits deeper into her wet pulsating centre, thrusting her fingers in and out, quicker as her girlfriend needed it.

With every deep movement of her lovers lithe digits, the older blonde moved against her, pushing down the length of her fingers. Cordelia couldn't think coherently, clouded by the haze of pleasure that the Cajun was creating with her wonderfully hot mouth and long digits. The electrifying ministrations physically jolted her and a loud moan tore from her chest as her walls clenched around Misty's fingers. She felt a tremendous build up and the shorter blonde writhed desperately.

Suckling on her girlfriend's clit roughly, Misty sped the pace of her fingers that thrust into the older woman. She could feel the tightening of Cordelia's walls around her digits, and she adored it, wanting her dark-eyed beauty to know pleasure, and know it was from her.

Misty could feel her climax coming in with waves and her grin widened in satisfaction and dire pleasure as she plunged her fingers rhythmically into the older woman, the pulsations pounding harder for release.

"Let go for me Delia," the wild blonde encouraged, before letting her tongue flicker rapidly across her clit. Cordelia's already tight pussy clamped down on her fingers with impressive strength, her gorgeous body shook hard in response, losing all control as a powerful orgasm ripped through her and her hot fluids gushed from deep inside her, soaking Misty's hand. Her fingers worked slower, bringing the woman down gracefully from her high as she leant forward to breathlessly kiss her girlfriend.

They laid like that a moment, Misty's hand still cupping Cordelia's sensitive sex as she pressed soft kisses to her face whilst the woman giggled, catching her breath.

"Damn, Misty Day you blow me away," she admitted when she was finally able to construct a sentence, and captured the Cajun's lips with her own, her arms wrapping around the girls' waist to hold her close. "Have you done that before?" she inquired glancing up to those captivating blue eyes.

"Only with m'self," Misty admitted with a deep blush, her fingers running softly through sleek blonde tresses as the older woman smirked at her in response.

"Naughty, sweetheart… Now kiss me again before I fuck you senseless, okay?" The wild-haired blonde giggled softly before obeying.


	11. A song for you

The bed was warm and soft as Cordelia stirred into consciousness. The memories of the previous night's events flooded back to her memory and she laid there while revelling in the blissful state of not quite asleep but not quite awake for a moment. Yesterday had been a rather lazy day… though on the contrary their 'activities' hadn't been lacking energy, yet they had hardly moved from Misty's bed for the entire time.

The older woman rolled over, further into the Cajun's embrace. The curly blonde was laid on her back, and one arm around Cordelia's shoulders as the shorter of the two snuggled into her side with their fingers locked softly in between them both. It was Misty who always had the other tight and protectively in her arms, and Miss Goode was not one to object, she enjoyed feeling this safe, this secure, for she hadn't felt that way in God knew how long… she had never slept at ease under the strict authority of her mother, and when she could sleep around her husband, it was most likely exhaustion from silent tears. She had never felt safe… until she had Misty.

The woman glanced up to the Cajun with wide dark eyes, a slight smile tingling upon her semi-parted lips, gazing as if Misty was the most precious being in the whole world, and to Cordelia, she was.

Reaching out to affectionately stroke her long fingers through curly, golden locks, she couldn't help but bite her lower lip softly, feeling her heart accelerate wildly, boy was she in love.

With a wistful smile to herself, Cordelia reluctantly climbed out of the bed, making sure the covers were pulled back into place so that her sweet Cajun Queen didn't get cold. Wriggling her way into a pair of shorts and throwing on one of Misty's flower print blouses, Cordelia cast her gaze back in the direction of her sleeping girlfriend, a smile etched into her features and wandered into the girl's kitchen.

It was barely twenty minutes later when the wild blonde awoke to an empty bed. Cordelia's disappearance was the very first thing that had clicked when Misty had reached over to hopefully cuddle into the back of her lover and press sweet kisses to the back of her neck, a plan that became futile when all her seeking hand found was the cooling bed-sheets.

But then she became aware of the mouth-watering smell in her apartment, and her stomach growled to remind her that she was actually hungry. Wrestling into tracksuit, the Cajun hastily crossed the room, still pulling her clothes on, and tripped on the corner of the carpet on her stumble out.

"Misty, is everything okay?" Cordelia asked in sudden concern hearing a thud that she had gotten used to as her girlfriend's tripping and she was all the more worried when she didn't receive an immediate response. "Misty, sweetheart?" she called, tempted to turn off the stove and make sure she was alright.

"M'okay, I dropped my pants," The wild blonde called from her room, causing the older blonde to smile as she shook her head softly, her girlfriend was adorable… she was clumsy, but adorable.

"That sounded heavier than just your pants!" she responded, still in the process of making breakfast, but she simply couldn't help but feel lucky, that the young girl was all hers.

"I was in them," came her half-enthused reply, making her laugh again.

"Wait you're actually wearing pants?

"Shut up!" After flinging on her matching jacket, the Cajun skidded into her kitchen, catching Cordelia in her arms and fulfilling the task that she had wanted to do when she had woken up. "Morning' Dee, somethin' smells good," Misty acknowledged, resting her chin on the older woman's shoulder.

"Good morning, baby… I'm making breakfast," Cordelia giggled, biting her bottom lip to suppress the enormous smile that was growing on her lips, glancing down momentarily before canting her head as much as she could to get a look at her girlfriend. "No fluffy socks this morning?"

"I can see that, Miss Cordelia and that's very funny, hilarious, ya know ya love my socks," Misty chuckled nuzzling now into the woman's straight, golden tresses, before finally adding, "… Isn't that _my_ blouse?"

Cordelia arched a brow, her gaze unwavering from the frying pan now, and her tone teasingly serious, "You _do_ want breakfast, don't you?"

"Your blouse, your blouse" The Cajun was quick to answer with a big grin, before pulling apart from the woman and setting the table for two, ready for breakfast. "Luke an' the others are comin' over late this afternoon, I rescheduled band practice earlier though so we ain't keeping anyone awake," Misty told her casually, stealing a kiss from the older woman when she turned around.

Cordelia entered the girl's arms kissing her again, standing on her toes for better height, "That sounds like fun, sweetheart, breakfast's ready… and thanks for the shirt…Forget-me-nots are my favourite"

* * *

Zoe scanned her phone for the eight-hundredth time. She wasn't a love police or lesbian FBI like Madison was, but she was always willing to contribute if it meant seeing her best friend as happy as she was with her next-door neighbour. The brunette sat in the very middle of Cordelia's couch, her hands wrapped around a bottle of Fanta when she wasn't checking her texts every other second.

"Who are you talking to?" Cordelia inquired curiously as she sat down in the chair near her best friend with a cup of coffee warming her own hands.

"Why aren't you spending this time with you Lafayette love?" Zoe asked abruptly completely oblivious (or ignorant) of the older womans question, demanding her own answers. The brunette had that crazy smile again, like she did when she had ordered Cordelia to go out and buy flowers.

"It's Wednesday, she's in a band remember?" Cordelia rolled her eyes playfully, despite how much she would have adored to be spending this time with her lover, she enjoyed listening to the music that she heard through the walls. Zoe glanced down when her phone alerted her that Madison Montgomery had (Finally) text her back, as if right on cue.

"Nonsense, Maddison said we can both go over," the brunette looked up at the other woman, her smile growing wider as she jumped to her feet, the Fanta fizzing slightly from the sudden haste.

The older woman seemed half confused half shocked, still seated in the chair. "Since when were you in collaboration with my girlfriends best friend?" Since the two undercover matchmakers had gotten together, Zoe had been even more keen in her relationship than ever before, and Cordelia hadn't even know that it had been possible.

"What does it matter? Why aren't you over there now, shoving your tongue down her throat?" Okay, Zoe had definitely been spending too much time around little miss Crude Montgomery.

"Why are you pestering me? I have everything you asked from last week: age, sexual orientation and phone number," The blonde pursed her lips, liking the excess taste of coffee from her lips as she stared up at her best friend who was just glancing at her with arched brows.

"Cordelia…" her tone was reprimanding as if she was telling the woman off for leaving a fork in the sink, or mixing the light laundry with the dark.

"I'm not asking her for her zodiac sign, Zoe!"

Five minutes later there was a round of repetitive knocking on the Cajuns door and it was Madison that let Zoe and Cordelia into Misty's apartment. It looked more like a party than a band get together. Red plastic cups had been towered into a pyramid, and several bottles lined the counter, mostly fizzy, the alcohol the Hollywood wannabe had provided. There were pillows and cushions almost everywhere and there were snacks going around, several pizza boxes were stacked in one place, crisps filled the bowls and even a load of popcorn had been poured into a saucepan (simply due to the fact all her bowls were either dirty or being used).

"Mist hun, you're gonna have to take role of lead singer today... Maddi is losing her voice," Kaylee announced with a piercing smirk as she glanced over at the Cajun after finishing her warm up on the keyboard. In a state of incredulity, Misty arched a brow towards the diva, not believing the girl, she wasn't that good an actress.

Cordelia sat on one end of the couch next to Zoe who looked mightily pleased with herself, as if getting the older woman into Misty's apartment was a particular achievement. The brunette watched the scene with an honest smile, opening a can of Coke and hoarding the bowl of cheesepuffs before casting a quick glance to her best friend, following her dark gaze… whoever could have guessed that she was staring transfixed at Misty Day.

"You are _so_ lovesick Cordelia Goode," Zoe chided with a girlish giggle, finally getting the blonde's attention whilst Madison was in the middle of proving that her voice was breaking. Cordelia let a graceful smile pull on her lips, before daring to nod.

"Extremely so… I might need a doctor," The two shared a soft chuckle after Zoe had appointed the woman to 'Doctor Day'.

"Fine, alright!" Misty relented gruffly, rather suspicious that she was suddenly lead singer due to Cordelia's presence. "Which song?" The blue-eyed beauty sighed tragically, slipping her guitar onto her shoulder and digging inside her jean pocket for a pick as she took her new position where her drama queen of a best friend usually stood.

"The one that you wrote last week, Jesus Christ!" Madison prompted, forgetting that she was supposed to be losing her voice, following the statement with an annoyingly forced cough. That earned a scornful glare from the Cajun who was right ready to protest before both Luke and Kaylee pitched in their unwanted agreements.

"No way, it's not even finished!" Misty exclaimed with a prolonged whine, trust her friends to put her in that position. She had written a song with Cordelia in mind, and the result had been some love song that she had never ever planned to perform, not in front of the woman herself at least. Oh she was on the verge of kicking Madison's ass for this set-up. Luke thwarted her attempts at getting out of it and shook his head smugly as if he too had been in on the plan.

"Come on, Mist, you have the target audience and everything," he laughed nodding towards Cordelia who finally seemed to catch on and smirked at her girlfriend who turned to her with pleading eyes, begging for her help. And help was the last thing that the older woman was about to do, subjecting the wild blond to her bands torment.

"I want to hear the one you wrote last week babe," Cordelia prompted unhelpfully and the Cajun could only roll her eyes, swearing and cursing under her breath.

"Ya the wors', Delia, I mean it," Misty grumbled, but she had already accepted her fate, fiddling stubbornly with the clamp on the neck of her guitar.

"This one'ss called 'Pretty Lady' Written by our own Misty Day! Written for… well, three guesses who," Luke snickered teasingly whilst Zoe quietly fangirled, making the Cajun pout, but she didn't have long to dwell on her unfair predicament as Luke opened with a two bar drumbeat and the intro began. Misty took one last second to feel sorry for herself before her eyes caught Cordelia's and suddenly… everything was okay. This was for her, this was always for her.

"Hey pretty lady with the brown eyes,  
can you see yourself the same way that I do?  
Hey pretty lady it's no disguise,  
you are beautiful, and I know that it's true.

You're the only face that I can see in this crowd.  
Your smile's the only smile I care to see.  
Come on pretty lady, let me say it out loud,  
you're the only one that means that much to me.

So hey pretty lady with the brown eyes,  
Will you look my way so I can see your face?  
Let me see the radiance like that of the moonlit skies.  
You're the beauty in this warzone of a place.

So come on won't you love me under a new sun rise?  
Yes, you pretty lady with the brown eyes,"

Through the whole thing, Cordelia couldn't take her eyes off her girlfriend's, the breath had caught in the back of her throat, as if her love for the girl was choking her because it was so thick and so heavy. She was mildly aware of Zoe silently fidgeting beside her, as if she was about to parade around with paper cut out hearts and love badges, waving pink flags that had been painted I Heart CG&MD and start a fan club.

But Cordelia was speechless, her heart was melting yet racing and flying and… God she didn't even know!

The woman stood from the couch, oblivious to the thick silence that surrounded them, (Zoe had even paused crunching on a cheesepuff), and Cordelia slid her hands up softly caressing Misty's cheeks with pure adoration, dark eyes locking on sky-blue. And she kissed her, right there, with such intensity and passion that the Cajun's eyes fluttered closed and her hands rest softly on the womans hips.

Even Madison was too impressed to ruin the moment with some snarky comment. Her girl had done good, and she was… dare she admit, proud?

The two broke apart, only a centimetre, and Cordelia brushed her lips softly against the girl's chin. "Damn, I love you Misty Day," The curly blonde wiped away a tear before she smiled brightly at the older woman.

"I love ya too, Miss Cordelia… ta the damn moon an' back," that was all it took to set Zoe off in a squealing triumph and even Luke cheered, the remaining three people of the band, (including Madison who had made a miraculous recovery), played one of their usual whilst Misty kissed Cordelia for all she was worth.

* * *

It was cold outside now. Even though he was sheltered in his car, his breath escaped in pale pearly clouds of vapour with every shallow, shaky exhale. His firm hands wring together in a vain attempt to squeeze some feeling back into his numb fingers as he sat in the drivers seat, the ignition switched off and waiting. Just waiting.

The rain was hammering off the windshield like pounding golf balls, almost deafening the likes of anyone sitting in a silent car. But still the weather was relentless, like the whole atmosphere was crying over the situation, and still his eyes remained focused on the entrance, watching as three people finally left; hauling equipment into the van and one of the girls holding her coat above her head, preventing her hair from getting wet.

Once the white van had driven off, then he finally got out of the car, standing there a moment and taking in what was happening. The rain made his dark hair heavier and droplets of water dribbled from his fringe, trickling down his forehead, down his face and he didn't even seem to care.

It had gotten dark outside, a fleece of grey wool coating the sky thanks to the angry storm clouds that roamed along in herds. His hands resided in his pockets as he stood stationary for a while longer in the shadows before walking across the parking lot, and into the reception.

He had dark circles around his eyes and a determined tightness around his jaw as he headed straight for the stairs like he had a purpose.

"Yo, I haven't seen your face around here, hey, you can't just walk through here!" Queenie yelled abruptly, calling the stranger back to the desk, where he stood impatiently, the rain still dripping from his coat. "Business, pleasure, or drunk and think this is some shit stall selling chicken wings?" The woman asked distastefully, as she took a bite from a sandwich.

"I'm here to see my wife" he spoke finally, tapping his fingers on the desk with a short sigh.

"Name?"

"Hank. Hank Foxx"


	12. Little letter and a lot of love

That night, Cordelia all but pulled Misty out of the girls' apartment and into her own; after all, the Cajun's living area was 30% furniture and 70% a combination of junk food and pizza boxes. It was the older womans suggestion to sleep the night in number Twenty-one and have a (rather late) spring clean around number twenty-two the following morning.

They had changed into soft, old clothes, and didn't even stay up much longer after getting into Cordelia's huge bed. The older woman curled into the curly-blonde, kissing up her throat softly, before resting her head on the pillow, her nose centimetres from Misty's.

"Thank you for today, sweetheart, it's been beautiful," Cordelia stated softly, her fatigue evident in her drowsy speech, and the Cajun smiled warmly, tugging her girlfriend closer as she pressed a loving and endearing kiss to her lips, reaching behind the older woman to switch off the lamp.

"I love ya baby girl… now let's get some sleep huh? Ya gotta work t'morrow," Misty sleepily replied, nuzzling into her girlfriend affectionately. Cordelia always found it marvellous when her lover memorized when she was at work, so they could plan around it, or Misty would bring her a coffee in the middle of a long day, but the curly blonde always knew her shifts, probably better than she herself did.

"Mist, I love you, but I don't want to be reminded that I have to sit at a desk for six hours tomorrow, I just want to have you hold me now," Cordelia giggled in a light whisper, her legs tangling with Misty's under the covers as she snuggled happily with her girlfriend before falling asleep.

* * *

Hank spent half an hour at the reception, filling out documents and proving to the woman behind the desk that he wasn't some creepy stalker taking a wrong turn. He practically lost his temper when she redirected him to the gay bar three streets down and as if she could sense his raging temper, Queenie checked that everything was filed correctly and told the man that Cordelia Goode slept in room number Twenty-one. With that he was gone within seconds, a flash of black and his coat was just disappearing around the corner.

His footsteps were silent as he turned off on the right floor, slowly counting off the door numbers as he passed them. Nineteen … Twenty…

Twenty-one.

He received a rush just knowing that on the other side of that door was his wife. Daringly, the man twisted the handle, just as slowly as he walked the corridor, and was rather surprised that is was unlocked, his Cordelia had surely changed if she was careless enough to leave her doors open.

Inside was pitch black, but he could figure the shapes of the couch, the hallway. Navigating his way in the dark, Hank slid his hand across the walls finding the doorway and when he finally found the bedroom, his heart stopped. How he had waited for this moment for years… Years!

"Cordelia…"

The woman's body froze under the bed sheets, an icy fear flooding through her body and numbing her fingertips. In instinct, she tightly shut her eyes, willing the whole world away and hoping, sincerely praying that her mind was stuck elsewhere, that the voice belonged in her nightmare. Before she knew it, there was a sob coming tearing from her throat as she forced open her eyes, confirming the terror that stood so boldly before her.

It was Cordelia's sudden crying that woke Misty, and instantaneously, she was whispering to the other, pressing a soft kiss to her cheek before casting her wide, blue gaze upwards and caught a glimpse of the intruder in the room.

"What're ya doin' here?" The Cajun demanded whilst switching on the bed-side light, illuminating the man that stood a few paces away. The curly blonde couldn't mistake the way that Cordelia's grip around her tightened as she trembled, leaving the girl with one guess on who it was that was in their apartment.

"Cordelia Babe, who's this?" his voice was snide, joking almost as if Misty was just imagination, although his eyes showed distinct signs of confusion when glancing the girl over.

"Don't - 'Cordelia babe' me, get - out of my apartment!" the woman managed to force the words out in broken segments, making her sound less stern as she would have hoped and more petrified… as petrified as she looked. Her complexion was white as snow and there was no other emotion trapped in her wide, round eyes than absolute fear, terror, "Hank please, why are you here?"

"No no, Cordelia who is this?" With a short nod to the Gypsy, he took one step closer, causing a panicked whimper to arise from the woman, along with a sharp flinch, as if she was expecting more than just a step.

"Misty Day," she answered for herself, clinging to her girlfriend tighter, she was at a loss of what to do. The Man looked twice her weight, as if he could snap her with one hand.

"Well, ' _Misty Day_ ' I advise you not to sleep with my wife, as for why I'm here" he began addressing Cordelia's previous statement with a smile that she didn't recognise as friendly "I'm here to have you back babe,"

"Ex-wife Hank! We both signed the divorce papers! And why would I ever go back to you?" she choked on her sob, shaking quite visibly in Misty's arms. Many night's she had played this impossible scene in her head when she woke from a fitful nightmare, always the same question: _What would I do if he found me here?_ Every answer that she had come up with was more bold and more courageous than the actual truth. She had forgotten that question ever since Misty Day's arrival.

"Ya heard my girlfriend get outta her apartment!" The curly blonde spoke up when nobody had moved or said anything. Hank tilted his head in confusion, his eyes turning into daggers the way he stared between the two.

"Girlfriend?" Hank wasted no time in taking long, purposeful strides to where Cordelia was cowering, his hand lashing out to grab her wrist with threatening strength and yanking her out of the bed. A cry of pain left the older woman as she stumbled from under the covers, falling to her knees on the floor and with his other hand balled into a fist, he struck her gut.

"Don't! Don't hurt her!" Misty screamed as she tried to pull the man off of her lover. Hank drew back his elbow, effectively jabbing the girl in the side and Misty lost her grip. Cordelia's ex-husband spared the crying blonde a look of disappointed, disgusted misery and dropped the womans wrist as she curled into a defensive ball, quivering in pain.

"Why would you hurt me like this, Cordelia? I… pour out my heart to you and then you're sleeping with the first whore that can warm your bed?" It was then that Hank turned around and punched the Cajun forcefully across the face, and she crumbled against the wall. Another blow to the side of the head sent her frail body to the wooden floor and Misty yelped as tears sprung forth from her eyes as she landed awkwardly one leg bent beneath her… But it was okay… as long as he wasn't hurting Cordelia, he could break her bones and she wouldn't care.

He drew back for just a moment and connected his heavy booted foot with her side, two heavy kicks to the ribs and one to the stomach; he stood on her leg where she had fallen in an odd position and she heard a sickening crack, that's when suddenly it stopped.

Misty thought she was going to black out from the pain, but she didn't, laying on the floor unable to move in agony. She could hear her girlfriend screaming in horror, on her feet again, but unsteady.

"Hank, please, no... she's innocent" Cordelia tried pleading desperately in a very quiet tone, but it mostly came out in soft squeaks as the man returned, his strong fingers fisting in her hair and again, she was on her knees on the hard floor.

"How dare you, Delia? I fucking loved you!" As he yelled the words, he thrust his hand forward, sending the woman's face once into the set of drawers, busting her lip and also sent the blood spilling from her nose.

The fist that wasn't tangled in her hair caught her once, twice, three times in the side. "I loved you and then you had the nerve to run away from me like I was some Goddamn criminal?" His voice rose, tears clouding his own eyes like he was the one who was feeling hurt.

God, she could still see her Misty slouched against the wall, broken and dumped like a toy that had been played with too rough and forgotten about minutes later. Misty. Her Misty. Cordelia tried to keep consciousness from slipping away from her by spelling her girlfriends name over and over in her head. M-I-S-T-Y. As many times as it took for Hank to leave her alone.

Cordelia curled up into a ball, finding that it relieved some pressure on her throbbing chest. "Do you have any idea how bloody long it took me to track this address? How many... how many calls I had to make to find out where you were?" Hank raged, pulling her head back further, silent tears streaming down her cheeks, begging him to stop.

"Hank, please-" her words were cut short along with his breath. Her ex-husbands large hand wrapped around her thin throat. Cordelia's lithe fingers struggled to pry open the punishing hand of her tormenter. Losing more and more air as she panicked, and continued to cry under his vice-like grip.

"I always liked you begging Cordelia, of course never in the way that I wanted you to… but this always did suffice," the Man growled, and black spots danced at the edge of her vision as Cordelia gasped desperately for denied breath.

Finally, he let her go, and the woman collapsed on all fours, watching the brown-polished boots retreat. "You've learnt nothing Cordelia, I'll be back when you've learnt how to be a good wife," the door slammed shut and through her sobs, the older woman crawled quickly to her girlfriend.

"M-Misty? Misty s-sweetheart, are you-you okay?" Cordelia shivered, cupping the girls face with both hands. Misty had one hand to her throbbing head, the other steadying herself on the floor, as she breathed deeply, almost unable to get enough oxygen with each heavy inhale.

"Cordelia… I-" she was going to apologise, she had failed to keep her safe, failed to protect her. Misty almost fell when she moved her hand off of the floor, that was keeping her up, and she sat, wincing at the pain and reached out to wipe the blood flow from beneath Cordelia's nose. She still had her other hand to her head.

After twenty minutes of sitting on the floor, Cordelia finally getting over her sobs, and Misty rubbing her back with her one hand, the woman turned from sorrow to terror. Hank was coming back. She didn't know when, but Hank was coming back.

She struggled to her feet and immediately began breathing heavier, panicking and mumbling to herself as she grabbed a large bag from beneath her bed.

"C-cordelia?" Misty questioned, confused by what was going on. "Cordelia!" she cried again, almost scared by the odd way the woman was behaving and couldn't contemplate why she wasn't receiving an answer. She didn't understand. "What's goin' on?" The curly blonde asked with wide blue eyes, but the woman didn't even stop to look at her.

"I- I don't even know how he found me? I came here to _escape_ the man! I have to go," Cordelia concluded with laboured breaths, yanking several clothes from their hangers, not even caring which and dumping the garments into the bag.

Hot tears escaped from widened blue eyed as she struggled to get to her feet, using the table to help her up. Misty could only stand on one leg, any pressure on the other almost made her scream. She wasn't sure if she was crying from the pain she was in, or the fact Cordelia was talking about… leaving?

"No! Ya can't go!" Misty almost screamed, shaking her head and bringing her hand back up to where it hurt. The tears were flowing freely now, her body was shaking tremendously and Cordelia was still packing her clothes.

"Maybe… maybe there will be a miracle and we'll find each other again soon," the woman paused as if she had just heard what she herself had said and turned to the girl with eyes that didn't see, only eyes of fear. "L-like your father said… there is always a bit of magic in something if you believe in it hard enough,"

Misty scoffed, but it just came out as a strangled sob. How could Cordelia use her own statements against her now? How… how could this be happening? Surely it couldn't be? Not really.

"There's no such thing as Magic Cordelia!" Misty screamed, everything was going blurry and this time for sure she couldn't tell if it was the pain or her tears blinding her. She held herself up on the table, as if her only strong leg was about to give way, thick, boiling tears streaming down her face.

The older blonde came closer, trying to reckon with the girl. When it came to fear, her head always overruled her heart, no matter how strong her feelings were… Fear did that to Cordelia Goode. "I've tried hiding from this monster for years, Misty! The man who makes my nightmares! You saw what he just did! I have to go,"

The wild haired girl's cries silenced, as if the realisation actually sunk in…

"But… where you go, I won't be able to follow ya,"

Cordelia stopped, another pile of clothes in her hands as she turned, dark eyes coated with tears as she glanced to the girl that she loved. If Misty went with her… and if Hank found her again like he had tonight, then her beautiful Cajun would be hurt again and she couldn't let that happen. "Then… maybe it's for the best,"

Cordelia swallowed thickly, as if she couldn't believe the words that came from her own mouth, and neither could Misty. The Cajun's eyes widened, her hands fell in front of her and it was only then that the older woman saw the blood that she had been hiding, stemming the heavy flow with her palm. The sight of deep red mixing with golden tresses alarmed Cordelia enough to bring her sharply to her senses, dropping the clothes to the floor. "Misty, you're bleeding!"

The girl stepped forward, seemingly forgetting about her leg. With her injury, her leg couldn't support her. Misty crumpled to the floor and blacked out from the immense, searing pain that flooded through her body.

* * *

The ambulance came thankfully quickly and all Cordelia could manage to do was cry. Why had she lost control like that? Why had she even thought of leaving Misty? How could she have been so incredibly stupid? She had time to wrestle with her conscience later, right now, her girlfriend was on a stretcher on her way to the hospital with Cordelia right by her side. Misty needed her now.

She told Misty over and over again in the back of that ambulance that she wasn't going anywhere… that they would stay together until the end of time. But she knew that the Cajun couldn't hear her, it was all useless… just like Cordelia believed herself to be in that moment.

She told the nurses everything that happened, how Misty had pulled Hank off of her, and how he punched her in the head, kicked her sides and broke her leg, she told them that she herself was alright, only suffering a few punches and a bloody nose and lip.

Everything was so busy in the hospital, passing in a blur of blue and white and fluorescent lighting. Cordelia didn't want to leave Misty and cried when she had to, but the Doctor assured her it wouldn't be for long. The older blonde gave a quick report to a police officer whilst a nurse made sure none of her ribs were cracked, and her nose wasn't broken. Thankfully, she actually was alright, and had to sit agitated whilst they cleaned the drying blood from her face and wrap her wrist lightly in a bandage, that was maimed from serious bruising.

"Can I go see Misty?" the woman pleaded, tears threatening to spill as soon as the nurse had finished checking her over. She was a young dark-skinned woman with her hair pulled tightly back.

"The girl you came in with?" Cordelia nodded eagerly, she had to be with her girlfriend… She had to be. The young nurse shook her head softly, almost looking pained to deny the womans request.

"Head injuries have to be treated specially and immediately, and they'll be putting a cast on her leg, they said it was a simple fracture, wouldn't take too long to heal. They're running a scan soon, and if there are no further issues that they have to tend to, you should be allowed to sit in with her if she's stable, but that might be some time," The nurse retorted professionally with a curt nod of her head, indicating that Cordelia could now get up.

" _If_ she's stable?" Cordelia questioned, alarmed as her voice rose slightly.

"Well after suffering a head injury it's impossible to say if the recovery will be easy of not, if the patient isn't calm whilst in an unconscious or subconscious state, blood levels could rise and-"

"Okay, stop taking… please," Cordelia interjected harshly, she couldn't bear to listen to what could happen.

"I'll let you know if you're able to see her soon,"

Cordelia practically ran to the ward where Misty was staying after it had been confirmed that the young woman was stable enough. She laid in the hospital bed, as peaceful as if she was sleeping like normal. Her eyes were closed and her lips didn't hint a smile like usual when she slept beside Cordelia. There was a bandage wrapping the side of her head and the older blonde could still see evidence of the blood though it.

God what had she done? _Stupid, Stupid this is your fault._

"M-Misty?" Cordelia whimpered, approaching slowly. When she received no response, she stooped gently to press a loving and apologetic kiss to the girls lips, leaving salty tears upon her flawless skin. She stood there a moment taking comfort in watching the steady rise and fall of her chest, her gentle breathing was what kept the woman from going insane.

The Cajun still looked angelic, laying peacefully, sleeping in oblivion. The doctors had given her permission to leave a while later, that she could come to see her tomorrow, but she had not wanted to leave her dearest girlfriend. She caressed Misty's cheek, softly, revelling in the warmth that radiated from her skin before settling back in the chair beside the bed to watch her throughout the night.

* * *

When Cordelia woke again, it was 4:18 in the morning and she immediately cursed herself for falling asleep when she was supposed to be watching her girlfriend. She felt bitter… even worse when there was evidence of Misty waking up during her slumbers: the lamp had been lit and the glass of water by her side half drained.

Cordelia stood next to the bed again. Misty was laying on her side now, facing her, as if she had fallen back asleep watching the woman and yes, in the corner of her lips protruded the smallest hints of a smile. That made her feel a bit better.

It was then that she noticed a little note, folded up and propping against the glass of water on her bedside, and it had the words ' _Cordelia Goode_ ' written in fine pencil. It was Misty's round writing that much she knew and she immediately snatched up the letter to read it.

Dear Cordelia Goode,

I know that you need to leave and I know I can't be selfish in asking you to stay. I want you to be safe and to be happy, and I'm so sorry that I can't provide you with both. As long as you're safe and far far away from the man who hurt you, as long as you breath, I'm content in knowing that your heart still beats, even if I can't hear it with my own ears.

But most of all Miss Cordelia, I hope you find someone, better than me, that will treat you right; someone who will cut the crusts of your sandwiches without you having to ask so you don't feel picky, but that's the way you like it; someone who will buy you flowers, and not just any flowers, Forget-me-nots, your favourite, symbolizing true, faithful love and memories. And someone who will hold you when you get frightened or angry, and read to you from a classical novel that reminds you of the good times of home. Because you deserve that and no less.

You deserve someone who remembers everything you want them to know, someone who will never forget your birthday or anniversary, every important date on your calendar; someone who never fails to make you smile. You deserve someone who can and will take care of you… and I tried, but I'm so so sorry that I couldn't stop you from getting hurt. I understand that you have to look after yourself, but once you've done that and you're far away, promise me you'll find someone special to look after you, the way a Queen like you deserves.

Please believe me when I say that this isn't easy for me, but I care about you so much more than I care about myself. I don't care if I'll be broken forever if it means that you get to have a better life. So if you need to go away to be safe, then who am I to stop you?

I will always love you Cordelia, I love you so much that I'm going to let you go, despite how much it hurts, as long as it means that you're safe, because that's the one thing that I live for. I live for you, now you have to go and live for yourself as well.

All the love in the World,

Misty x

Cordelia rereads the letter over and over again, fighting back tears until she can't anymore and they're streaming down her face. She wasn't going to leave her Misty. Never. Never. Never. Never. But her heart broke… the Cajun would have given up everything for her? She would have rather let herself live in torturous misery and pain if it meant that she could be safe far away?

How could anyone be so pure, so good and so selfless?

"Misty, baby… please, please wake up!" Cordelia murmured through her tears, nudging the girl lightly, so scared in case she hurt her. She waited anxiously a moment, biting her bottom lip. She was just about to call her again when Misty's head turned ever so slightly to the side.

"Pretty sure I recall saying… ya the wors' bloody alarm clock in the world," The whispered words just managed to feebly pass her lips as she smiled to the woman, opening her eyes slightly, and she was met by the beautiful sight of her girlfriend.

Despite herself, Cordelia let loose a laugh that was still half a sob, her tears turning to those of happiness as she leant low and kissed the wild blonde desperately, overwhelmed that she was okay. "You might've mentioned it… I love you!" she choked out past a struggle of emotion.

Misty beamed, holding the shorter blonde close, preventing her from moving away. "Come here you, I love ya so damn much!" The Cajun announced with her usual energy, pulling her girlfriend to lay beside her, before wincing and exclaiming in pain.

"Oh my God! Did I hurt you? I'm so sorry!" Cordelia whined, so afraid of hurting the one she loved the most.

"S'okay, baby doll, Jus' my leg… Come here _softer_ ," the girl giggled, wrapping her arms round the older woman securely, and held her close. "Ya okay, darlin'?" The curly blonde asked, with sweet concern know that the other wasn't so emotional.

Cordelia nodded before stating honestly, "Better for being here with you. I promise you Misty, I'm not going anywhere, I'm going to stay right here with you forever," She breathed against the girl's neck, relaxing a little as she felt Misty pull her closer.

"Ya sure babe?"

"I'm sure,"


	13. I love you

Misty felt awfully uncomfortable going home on crutches. She liked having her arms free, whether that was to randomly fling them around Cordelia, or to twirl to Stevie's music, she enjoyed the freeness that she had taken for granted before she was burdened with hobbling along, crutches attached to her hands whilst her leg healed properly.

She supposed eventually, that having crutches had their benefits, for example… playfully jabbing at Cordelia when she had made yet another teasing comment about her cast, but then she always hurried to kiss Misty lovingly, reassuring her that her _'peg leg'_ (as the cast bound limb was now titled) was adorable.

Another advantage to not being able to walk properly was that she no longer had to go up several flights of stairs, and was now privileged to use the disabled elevator at the front of the lobby instead. And although it upset the girl some days that she was now categorised as disabled, she did get a kick from threatening to make Cordelia walk the stairs after the older woman had make some particular teasing remark.

It was midday on Saturday when Misty had finally been relieved from hospital, after several health checks and substantiality, and she got to try out her crutches. Cordelia had phoned for a Taxi, and now, the two were back outside of the flats, looking up at what they knew was home.

"How are you feeling sweetheart?" The shorter blonde glanced over to the girl again, her heart receiving a familiar twinge seeing the Cajun beauty like that, hurt and just a little broken and all because she was protecting her girlfriend.

"Bloody hell, Miss Cordelia, if ya ask me one more time, I'm gonna go back ta the hospital where it's quieter," Misty teased with an exaggerated eye roll and a bright smile on her lips. All the older woman seemed to be able to do was spare her a worried glance and as is she was okay, to which the answer every time was yes.

"Forgive me, Misty Day, but I love you with my whole heart, and I have permission to make sure you're not going to collapse or anything," Cordelia announced with a nod, and a soft grin settling into place as she held the door open for the wild blonde.

"Okay," Misty whispered pausing to press her lips against Cordelia's sweetly, pulling back just to admire her beautiful face.

"Okay?"

"Yeah, I forgive you," The Cajun remarked playfully, before moving inside and was immediately pursued by a blushing Delia. She hurried in front of the girl with narrowed eyes as she smirked gently, shaking her head from side to side.

"That's not what I meant, so help me Day, get in the goddamn elevator!" The older woman stated, guiding Misty away from the stairs where she was originally headed. The curly blonde relented far too easily and let the other shepherd her in the right direction.

"It seems like forever ago that I got here…" Misty paused in front of her door, a soft grin tugging at her lips as she stole a second to remember the day that she arrived, hauling her bags and swearing. It felt much further away than it actually was, and the young blonde could only wonder if it was because of the time that she had spent with Cordelia.

"It does, doesn't it?" the shorter woman agreed standing contently beside the Cajun, canting her head gently, just to read the girl's expression. "You know… before you got here everything was just so plain, so ordinary, I'd get up, go to work, come home, sleep, it was an endless cycle," she sighed, her hand closing over Misty's.

"And now you're rescuing Gypsies from club restrooms and letting her sleep on your couch," Misty giggled softly as Cordelia unlocked the stiff door, giving it a stubborn jab with her shoulder and motioning exaggeratedly for the wild blonde to enter, as if she were introducing royalty.

"And picking up her books when they're running off down the hallway," Cordelia Goode's smile widened, biting ever so gently on her bottom lip. Despite the fact her darling Cajun was battered and bruised she was still so beautiful, if not even more so.

Misty's blue eyes lit up brightly, mouth falling slightly open with ensure delicacy as she stared awestruck, "That was you? Of course it was!" The girl felt her heart pounding in her chest, beating rapidly as always whenever she remembered just how much Cordelia loved her.

And she loved her too, much more than anything or anyone in her whole life.

"Mist baby? Everything okay?" The older woman inquired gently. The apartment had been cleaned and tidied in their absence, Misty was guessing that Madison had taught the others how to break into a lock and it was thanks to Zoe and probably Luke that there were no old Pizza boxes from three nights ago.

"Miss Cordelia, can I ask ya somethin'?" The Cajun hopped across the room, setting her crutches down by the cabinet and she opened her arms. Cordelia didn't hesitate to rush into that embrace, gently lowering them both down to sit on the footstool.

The sun was glowing brightly, and it caught Misty's hair, making each and every strand shine like pure gold, and all Cordelia could do was smile, for her Queen was stunning, the golden haze warming alabaster skin and in the moment she was positive the Cajun was a real angel descended from heaven and cloaked in gold... but Misty Day was more valuable than all the gold in the whole world.

"Anything at all my love," The older woman tucked a lock of curly blonde hair behind her girlfriend's ear, smiling affectionately at the other.

"Ya could've gone, ya could've gone anywhere in the whole wide world that guaranteed ya safety, and yet… ya here, ya decided ta stay. An' he… he said he'd be back," The wild girl sounded genuinely curious and confused, as if she was wondering why the older woman would give up the promise of a better life… for her?

"Misty, Misty, Misty… I'll start simple, there was no way on Earth I could ever bring myself to leave you. You mean so much to me sweetheart, and I've never known anyone love me as much as you do, nor have I ever loved another with such extent. If I had left… I might've been safer but I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I wasn't able to wake up beside you. If I couldn't see those gorgeous blue eyes of yours, I'd go insane…" Cordelia whispered, wrapping her arms around the Cajuns waist and Misty leant back into her lover, letting her eyes close gently overcome with happiness.

Cordelia continued, "If I had left, I'd have been no different from my mother," Misty jolted slightly as if she couldn't believe what the older woman had just said. She turned around then, with a slight frown on her features.

"Ya ain't a thing like ya mother Miss Cordelia! I met the woman an' she couldn' compare ta ya, ever! Ya so good, so sweet an' so darn beautiful. Ya care so much, an' ya have the sweetest soul I ever seen. And Dee, I'm constantly wonderin' what I did ta deserve ya,"

Tears collected in the woman's dark eyes, tears of joy as she shook her head, holding her lover closer.

"What you did? My God Misty, what did I do?" The younger of the two softly squeezed the other reassuringly, kissing Cordelia's cheeks delicately.

"Ya were yourself… that's more than enough for me Cordelia. I love ya! I love ya so much. I love ya, I really do… I love ya" Misty smiled brightly, leaning up to capture the older womans lips in a heated kiss, her arms around Cordelia's neck as the shorter blonde reciprocated the passion immediately, lightly resting her hands on the Cajun's hips.

Cordelia's tongue softly swept against the younger girls' lips and she kissed her lover with all the desire that she could muster.

When they broke apart a while later, the older blonde brushed her thumb delicately across Misty's lower lip, genuine adoration in her gaze as the Cajun smiled sweetly up at her, reflecting the glowing love that was registered on her flawless features.

"I love you too, Misty Day, with all my heart and more,"

She kissed her girlfriend again, gently caressing her cheek and neither of them had ever felt as happy as they did in that moment, bound together, kissing the one they loved as they sat on the sweet little footlocker in front of the window.

 **~o** **~The End~** **o~**


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